


i could show you incredible things

by rosietyler



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: All seven years, All the gang is mentioned, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Eventual Jake/Amy, Multi, POV Amy Santiago, amy is a muggleborn, holt fully supports healthy competition, i mean they are eleven at the start, in for the long haul kids, jake and amy are academic rivals ofc, jake is a pureblood with a shitty dad, kylie is the sassy sidekick amy needs in her life, many bets are afoot in this, reallllllyyyy slow burn tho, some jily vibes are here, what if the gang went to hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23154235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosietyler/pseuds/rosietyler
Summary: Holt shook his head. "Of course not, Amy. Quite the opposite, in fact. You are special. You have magical abilities that are very powerful indeed. The full name of my school is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And you, Amy Santiago, are a witch."--or, how amy santiago goes to hogwarts, and realises why she's never fitted in in the muggle world.
Relationships: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 29
Kudos: 77





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> brooklyn 99 AU - hogwarts stylez (all the gang will feature, don't worry!) this is just background to amy's character, the rest of the gang come into play next chapter. (one of them is in this chapter, can you guess who?)
> 
> i have taken a few liberties with Amy's parents for the sake of the fic.
> 
> hoping to eventually chronicle all seven years. it's gonna be a long ride folks!
> 
> please leave a comment so i know to keep writing!

**CHAPTER ONE**

Amy woke up with a start at the light streaming into her window. Her attic bedroom always let the sunlight in early, but it never annoyed her. In her large and bustling house of seven older brothers, it was hard to get a little bit of quiet time to herself.

Not to mention today was her eleventh birthday.

She took a deep breath and rolled over, staring at her ceiling for a little bit, revelling in the peaceful quiet before her brothers shattered it into a million pieces. A glance at her bedside alarm clock told her it was 6:30am. Half an hour earlier than she usually was awake - she guessed that with it being her birthday, her parents were allowing her to sleep in. Her parents woke at 5am everyday.

Not one for dawdling, she threw her legs over the side and reached for her dressing gown, her bedroom slightly chilly on this early March morning. She padded downstairs, creeping past her brothers' room with a well-practised sneak before she landed in the kitchen.

As expected, her parents were waiting for her at the kitchen island.

Victor and Camila Santiago were loving parents, but well disciplined - they rose early and has strict morals, and expected each of their children to have the same. The only reason they hadn't gone door-to-door waking up their sons was because it was Amy's birthday. They sat at the kitchen island with steaming mugs of coffee in front of them, looking impossibly well pressed for this time in the morning with their matching two-piece pyjama sets.

"Happy birthday, mija," Camila said, her tone hushed to appreciate the quiet but full of love as she crossed the kitchen to sweep Amy into a hug. Her father was soon behind, ruffling her as he kissed her forehead.

"My babygirl is growing up so fast," he said, almost sounding a bit choked. Camila threw a smile at him as she walked around the island to the counter, where she casually flipped a pancake. Amy grinned as she sat down, eyeing the pile of presents on her right hand side. Her mum put a mug of tea down in front of her and grinned.

"Do you want to open them now, or after breakfast?"

She hadn't even managed to end the sentence before Amy was tugging the first present towards her, buzzing with anticipation and her grin widening even more. Camila laughed at her daughter's enthusiasm and switched the hob off for now, placing the cooked pancakes on a hot plate for later when her sons awoke.

Amy was thoroughly spoiled this year, with books and stationery coming out of her ears - she spent a full two minutes admiring the glass fountain pen and matching initialised stationery, including her own letterhead gift set. _'So you can send personalised thank you letters, mija'_ her mother had said with a kiss to the forehead. Soon, the wrapping paper had been cleared and the presents stacked into a neat pile based on size (the Santiago's were notorious for their order and organisation). They enjoyed their tea whilst helping Victor with the day's crossword, and Amy got an affection ruffle on the head and impressed look when she guessed the answer to twelve down, 'calcium'. Amy glowed under her parents' praise, revelling in the quiet time without the chaos that came with her brothers. The quiet was broken by a sharp tap to the door.

"Who would call at this early hour?" grumbled Victor, setting down his pen (a similar one to the pen Amy was just gifted) and rose to get the door. Amy shot a puzzled look to her mother, who looked at her equally as perplexed, the look growing when she could hear her father talking another man in low tones before clearly saying _'come on in, please.'_

Her father re-entered the kitchen with another man, who Amy immediately thought of as _powerful._ He was tall, taller than her father. He held himself almost painful upright, and wore a strange cloak of deep purple. She couldn't help but notice her father was flitting between eyeing him warily and exchanging glances with his wife. The strange man, however, was looking directly at Amy with an expressionless face. He sat down opposite her at the kitchen island at Victor's invitation.

"Amy Santiago," he said, nodding at her. His voice was deep and held very little emotion, like his face. "Happy birthday."

Amy frowned. "How did you know it was my birthday?" she asked.

"I can get to that in a minute." He dipped a hand in his deep purple cloak and retrieved an envelope. It was thick, and clearly made of heavy parchment. Amy could make out green ink in neat cursive across the envelope, but couldn't make out the writing. "This is for you."

Indeed, it was her name and address on the envelope in the neat cursive. It was heavy in her hands, and she turned it over to see a large wax seal on the back that looked like a collection of four different animals with a slogan in Latin underneath. The first word Amy read was 'draco' but her father spoke before she could read anymore, and her head shot up.

"I let you in when you said you had to speak to my family. Now, speak. What do you want with Amy?" he said, crossing over to stand behind her. She felt his hands rest on her shoulders, and the weight was reassuring.

"My name is Professor Raymond Holt," he said, his face remaining passive. "I am deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts School."

"Hogwarts? I haven't heard of it," Victor said dismissively, his tone annoyed.

"You will not have. We are not a ... normal school." Holt looked at Amy, his gaze piercing. "Amy. Have you ever made anything happen that you could not explain, no matter how hard you tried?"

Amy was taken aback. She _had,_ but she had never told a soul. How did this man know that she was sure she was the one that, when she was six, had set Kyle in her class' backpack on fire when he got the whole class to call her Swotty Santiago? How did he know that she had once wished so hard to be home when she was in school that she had opened her eyes to find herself in her bedroom? (She had had to pretend she came in early that day, it had been a nightmare!) And that one time Tony had chased her down the stairs and she had tripped but instead of falling down the flight of stairs she'd found herself levitating horizontally down the stairs, her nose and toes both brushing the carpet?

"Don't be so silly," Victor said, clearly irritated. "She has always been a model child, perfect grades. I don't think - "

"Yes." Her voice was quiet but strong as she cut off her father, and all three adults stared at her. She felt her father's hands on the shoulder tighten slightly. "I have done things I can't explain. But I didn't tell anyone. Am I in trouble?" She tried hard to keep her voice neutral, but one of the things that terrified Amy the most was getting into trouble.

Holt shook his head. "Of course not, Amy. Quite the opposite, in fact. You are special. You have magical abilities that are very powerful indeed. The full name of my school is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And you, Amy Santiago, are a witch."

There was a full ten seconds of silence before anyone spoke.

"Now, there is no such thing - "

There was a loud gasp from the other side of the island. Victor stopped talking and all eyes turned to Camila. "Abuela," she breathed, her eyes on Holt, hands covering her mouth. "My abuela, she always said her family had magical abilities, powers. We never believed her, we ridiculed her, called them her fanciful stories." She choked down a sob.

"I doubt they were stories," Holt said. "Magic can skip many generations and emerge in the most unusual ways. And it has emerged in you, Amy." His gaze flipped back to her. "Hogwarts is free to attend, but is a boarding school. You attend September 1st until June 30th. You may return home only for the Christmas and Easter holidays. The school will help you understand your magic and learn how to control it. You will take classes in Charms, Potions, Astronomy. You will be amongst other children who have magical abilities. Make friends for life. Take your place in the wizarding community."

Amy took a deep breath. It felt like the world had started spinning a hundred miles per hour. For this man to come into her home - _on her birthday, no less -_ and tell her that she was a witch? She was having a hard time wrapping her head around it all. But something, deep in her bones, beyond her head spinning was telling her this was right. She _was_ special. She _was_ different. She'd always known she was different the other children, and this was why. She was a _witch._

"No-one else in my family is a witch?" she whispered, thinking of her parents and brothers.

"No," Holt agreed. "You're what we call a muggle-born; a child born to non-magical parents. Muggle is the name we call non-magical people. It's not a discriminative term," he added. "Muggle-borns are unusual, but not uncommon."

Amy nodded in understanding. Her eyes fell onto the envelope she still held in her hands, unopened.

"Ah, yes," Holt said, his eyes following hers. "The letter is your official invitation to attend Hogwarts. It includes a list what you will need to bring with you to Hogwarts, should you choose to attend."

"What would happen if she doesn't?" Victor asked, rubbing her shoulders reassuringly. Amy felt a jolt of unease at his words.

"There is no law that says she must attend," Holt said, one eyebrow raising. "But you should know that if she does not learn how to control her magic, it won't go away. It was surface in painful ways. When she is sad, angry, afraid. She will not be able to control it. It will get worse with age." His voice was annoyingly neutral still.

"I think we could all do with some time to think about things." It was the first words Camila had spoken since her confession earlier.

"Of course," Holt said, rising from his seat. "I understand news of this nature can be overwhelming. I do hope you'll choose to attend Hogwarts, Amy. If you do, meet me in one week's time at 11am at 48 Charing Cross Road. I will personally escort you to Diagon Alley, where you will buy what you need from your list." He nodded at the still unopened envelope. "If you do not show at 11am, I will assume you no longer wish the place."

"I will show you out," Victor said, leaving his perch behind Amy to escort Holt from the room, who left with a bow of the head towards Amy. As the kitchen door softly closed behind Victor, Camila leapt out of her seat and slid into the one beside Amy.

"Oh, mija," she whispered, putting her arm around her shoulders and kissing her on the temple. Amy relaxed into the familiar affection. "I always knew you were special."

Amy giggled softly. "Do you think I should go, mamacita? I ... my head is spinning."

"No wonder!" Camila said, an element of excitement in her voice. "Let's open the letter and see what it says."

Amy flipped the envelope to the back, appreciating once again the heavy wax seal as she opened the envelope. Two heavy pieces of parchment were in the envelope, and picked up the first one and put the other one on the table.

It had a coloured crest at the top, with a Latin slogan underneath. She guessed this must be the school crest. Just as she started to read the letter, Victor came back into the kitchen, sliding into Holt's vacant seat wordlessly.

"Dear Amy Santiago, we are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1st September. We await your owl not later than 31st July. Yours sincerely, Raymond Holt, Deputy Headmaster."

"I assume this must be the shopping list," Camila said, picking up the other letter that lay on the kitchen island. "First-year students will require ..." She read aloud the shopping list, as Amy sat in bemusement of her mother saying words like 'wand', 'cauldron' and 'Magical Theory.' Although, the book titled _'A History of Magic'_ had piqued Amy's interest already.

Victor sighed from across the table. "This is madness!" he said, throwing his hands in the air. "We cannot be talking about sending off our eleven-year-old daughter to a school for _magic!"_

"Why not?!" Camila said, still holding the shopping list. "Our daughter has magical abilities, Victor. Didn't you hear what he said? About them never going away? Coming out in painful ways? Do you want that for Amy?"

"Of course not," he said hurriedly, crossing his arms. "Just ... this just seems like a story. How do we know this isn't some weirdo, come to abduct her? If magic does exist, how have we not heard about it all before now? His story doesn't add up. It's completely implausible."

"Daddy," Amy said softly, and Victor's gaze snapped his daughter, his eyes softening. She reached across the table and grasped his hand. "I think magic does exist. I have done things I can't explain, weird things when I'm angry or stressed or upset. And I want to go to school. I've never fitted in; I've always felt different than the others. I think this might be why."

"Mija," Victor said, emotion heavy in his voice as he held onto her hands. "You have always been so mature for your age."

"And when we go to meet Professor Holt at Charing Cross Road, you'll be with me, so nothing bad will happen to me. We can see for sure then if he is telling the truth."

"You seem to have it all figured out, Amy," Camila laughed from beside her. Victor's eyebrows were still knotted across the table.

"You really want to go to boarding school, Amy? Away from your family?"

Amy sighed. "That part isn't ideal," she said, and Camila couldn't help but smother a giggle at her daughter's grown up tone. "But I'm sure it'll be fine. And I'll be coming home for holidays anyway so -"

"It sounds to me, Amy," Victor interrupted, noting the use of _'I'll be'_ and ' _when_ ' rather than ' _if_ ' and ' _I would'_ when his daughter spoke. "Like you've made up your mind."

Amy took a second then nodded slowly. "I can't explain it," she said, her voice quiet but sure, "but I just have a feeing like this is right. I can feel it in my bones."

Camila laughed. "Who are we to deny it if you feel it in your bones?"

"And you're both okay with it?" Amy gnawed on a hangnail as she looked for her parents' approval.

Camila stayed silent, but Victor sighed. "I wouldn't say I'm okay with it. I don't know any father who would be. But if it's what you want, mija, then your mother is right. We trust you to make your own decisions." Amy's face lit up. "And all you need to do is say the word and we'll come take you home."

"Yes yes Daddy I promise I promise!" Amy barely took a breath as she tore out of her seat and threw her arms around her father. Victor huffed out a laugh but returned her enthusiastic hug.

Above them, the peace was shattered by a door opening and a few heavy footfalls coming down the stairs. Her brothers were awake.

"Amy," Victor said, pulling back from her and his tone turning serious. "I think - until we figure all of this out - it's best if we don't mention it to the boys. In case it turns out this man is spinning tales."

Amy nodded solemnly. "I promise Dad, not a word. Our little secret." A small smile remained on her face.

"Good girl," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll hide the letters in our bedroom for now." He took the two letters and popped them back into the envelope, concealing them in his newspaper just in the nick of time as the kitchen door banged open and four of Amy's six brothers streamed into the kitchen.

"Couldn't wake up David and Tony," Luis said with a shrug as he sat down at the island, shoving Amy lightly. "Happy birthday, squirt!"

"You did presents without us?! Mean!" shouted Nick, prompting a shout from Alec too, and then chaos descended over the kitchen once again.

And no matter how much they taunted her throughout the day, Amy couldn't wipe the grin off her face.

***

It was 11th March, 10:45am and Amy and her parents were arriving onto Charing Cross Road. The Santiago's as a rule were always early, in fact - this was them running late. They had left their sons with various friends and thin excuses about wanting to spend the day with their daughter for her birthday.

"Which number did he say again?" Camila asked Amy, who was clutching onto her hand and bouncing in barely contained excitement.

"48," she answered immediately, pulling them down the street towards the bookstore that occupied number 48 Charing Cross Road.

"Can you buy these books at a normal bookstore?" Victor said, looking at the list he held in his hand. "Don't think I've ever seen _'A History of Magic'_ on the shelves."

"Oh, _'A History of Magic'_ is the book I'm most excited about," Amy raved, ignoring her father's question entirely. "Imagine all that history, contained inside one book? That's amazing! I can't wait to read it!"

"You'll have all the books read before you even get to school, mija," Camila said, amused at her daughter's overenthusiastic nature but not surprised.

"Of course, mama," Amy said, rolling her eyes. "I have _so_ much to catch up on! I don't want to be the only one there who doesn't have a clue what's going on!"

"No matter what you do, your hard work ethic will see you through," Victor said, clapping Amy on the shoulder. He checked his watch just as a large man came into view.

"Santiago's," Holt said in greeting, wearing a navy blue cloak this time. He stood out on the busy London street, but no-one seemed to be giving him a second glance.

"Professor Holt," Victor said his voice twinging with disbelief as he nodded at the man. He nodded back.

"Come with me," he said, walking past the bookstore. Amy frowned. Beside the bookstore, as if by magic ( _heh)_ sat a small, shabby pub that was definitely not there two minutes ago. All of the Santiago's were stunned into disbelief. "This is the Leaky Cauldron," he said to Amy, "and now you know it is here, you'll be able to find it again. It's hidden to muggles. That's what we call non-magic people such as your parents."

He pushed open the door, and inside, it was just as shabby as outside. The lighting was dim, only a few rickety tables dotted here and there and - were the candles levitating?!

"Morning, Tom," Holt called out to the bartender, who called out a _'Morning, Ray'_ before he got back to work scrubbing the bar.

Holt confidently walked through the pub and the Santiago's followed, Victor keeping a tight arm around Amy's shoulders. They didn't seem to be sitting down, instead they appeared to be heading for a back exit, which landed them in a kind of alley behind the pub. Victor's eyebrows were tightly knotted by the time Holt came to rest in front of a brick wall. There was nothing in the alley except a couple of bins, and there was no way out.

"See here, Holt," he said, angry. "If you've wasted my family's time with this trick -"

Holt held up a hand, and Victor hushed immediately.

Holt reached inside his cloak, and pulled out a thin stick. _A magic wand,_ Amy's mind supplied, and she felt a small thrill at the prospect of her taking one of her very own home today. He used the wand to tap some of the bricks in a sort of rhythm, before pulling it back into his cloak.

Before her eyes, the bricks started to shake and wobble, some were turning, some fell out and hit the floor. A hole appeared just above Amy's eye line, which got progressively wider and wider until a neat arch was before them. Amy stared, her grin a mile wide; Camila had her hands over her mouth and Victor's jaw was on the floor.

_It's all real._

Before them, was a bustling street. Buildings that looked too lopsided to even be standing were on either side; most of the adults were in cloaks of various colours similar to Holt's; in one of the shops they were advertising what looked like a broom, and across the street a shop appeared to be selling owls.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Holt said, stepping through the arch into the busy street. The Santiago's followed. "This is one of our main shopping streets in the Wizarding World. There is a Law - the Statute of Secrecy - that means Muggles like yourself do not know about our world unless there is a need to. We coexist alongside you without every revealing our identity. There are many wizard-only areas. We should be able to get all of your things on your list here."

The next couple of hours passed way to quickly for Amy's liking, and - not be cliché - was entirely magical. They swapped their Muggle money for Wizard money at Gringotts and met goblins, who were possibly the ugliest things Amy had ever seen. After that they bought all of her books at a shop called Flourish and Blotts, where Amy would have happily spent the rest of her life. Then they moved over to Slugs and Jiggers Apothecary, where they bought a cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) and now she was in the queue to get her robes, which seemed to be the uniform.

There were a few people in the shop, a boy trying on some robes and an older girl that seemed to be finishing up getting measured. She stood in a queue behind a young boy with dark hair that appeared to be the same age. He turned around with a wide grin. "First year too?" he said, bouncing on his toes.

Amy nodded. "Yep," she said, not really wanting to say much more in case she came across silly for not knowing things about the magical world. She really wanted to read those books she just bought to brush up on common knowledge so she didn't appear completely out of the loop.

The boy gasped. "Me too!" he smiled so wide Amy thought his face might split in half. "Isn't everything _wonderful?_ I've been waiting to go to Hogwarts for so long that I can't believe it's my turn!" Out of the corner of her eye, Amy could see a woman gesturing for the boy. "Oh, it's my turn for robes! See you on the train!" he waved cheerily at her before heading off.

A kindly woman with a round face gestured to Amy. "Up here, sweetie," she said in a broad Scottish accent, pointing at the stool. Amy stood on the stool like she'd the older girl do, and gasped as the tape measures seem to take the measurements themselves, whipping around her whilst the lady stood with her clipboard and wand.

"Muggle-born, dear?" she said, smiling at Amy's gasp. Amy nodded. "Welcome then, hen. You'll love Hogwarts, trust me. Now, because you're not sorted until you get to Hogwarts, your robes will just show the school crest, but that's charmed so it'll change to your new house when you arrive and get sorted," she said, holding out a set of robes for Amy to try on. After a couple of alterations, they were good to go. Holt had shrunk everything into a small trunk, so they woudn't get looks carting a cauldron back through London.

Amy made a mental note to ask Holt about the houses, but she immediately abandoned all thought when he announced they were nearly finished, with only one item left to get - her wand.

She skipped along excitedly to Ollivander's, which looked somewhat shabby from the outside. Holt entered first, the little bell above the door tinkling as Amy and her parents followed. It was very dusty inside, and Amy heard her mother sneezing behind her. It was half quaint, half derelict.

The man who greeted them was old, but the sparkle in his eyes told Amy he was sharp minded despite his age. He told them all about the different kinds of wands and their different cores, and how the wand chooses the wizard. He said she would have to try different wands, but she would know when the right one came along.

She tried the first one, but nothing really happened (a part of her wondered if she was holding it right, but he didn't seem to be correcting her). The second one made her hand feel like it was burning, so Ollivander ruled it out. The third shot sparks out of the back end that nearly set her jumper on fire, so that was a definite no. The fourth, however, made her fingers tingle in a very pleasant way. "It just feels like a piece of me," she said to Ollivander, who nodded in an almost smug fashion.

"A wand should feel like an extension of ones' own arm," he said, and Amy nodded; that's exactly what she felt. "Thirteen and three quarters inches," he continued, taking it off Amy and putting it into a box. "Hawthorne wood, unicorn hair core. Slightly springy flexibility, too. A good wand."

Amy couldn't help but glow for the thousandth time.

They paid up and headed outside, the air slightly chillier as the sun was beginning to set.

"I think that's us done," Holt said, appraising their list. Amy cleared her throat and the adults turned to look.

"On the list, it says I can have a pet. An owl, cat or toad," she recited, having memorised the list the day after her birthday. "Can I have a cat, please, Mama?" she begged, like she was six begging for an ice-cream.

Camila looked to Victor, who shrugged. "Might be nice to have something to keep her company up there," he said, and Amy's entire face lit up.

"Oh, come on then," she said, giving in easily. Amy squealed and ran towards the Magical Menagerie, and half an hour of intense decision making later, came out with a tiny black-and-white kitten in her arms she'd (creatively) named Oreo.

"Now, I do think our business is complete," Professor Holt said, handing Camila back the list. "I will not see you again, Amy, until you come to Hogwarts. You will arrive by train, departing from King's Cross Station. Here is your ticket," he gave her what looked like a normal train ticket. "You will see the platform says nine and three quarters. That is not an error. There is a wall, between platforms nine and ten. Walk through the wall, and you will get to nine and three quarters. The train departs at 11am on the dot on 1st September. Don't be late or you will miss the train."

Somehow, they had ended up at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Until we meet again, Miss Santiago," Holt said, nodding at Amy.

"Professor Holt, thank you," Amy said, as her parents reiterated their grateful thanks.

"Oh - one last thing. I know is tempting to try magic out, but you are forbidden to do magic outside of Hogwarts until you are seventeen years of age," Holt said, before striding back down Diagon Alley and disappearing into the crowd.

Amy's heart sank a little, until she remembered the vast amount of reading she had to get through. That put the wide grin back on her face instantly as her family crossed through the Leaky Cauldron and back into Muggle London, her world turned upside down.


	2. first year: part one

**CHAPTER TWO**

It had been a long, long six months for Amy.

Six months of devouring the books she'd bought in Diagon Alley (she's pretty much memorised entire passages of _'A History of Magic'_ ), staring at the wand nestled in it's box and teaching Oreo how to do tricks. Six months of counting the days. Six months of waiting.

And telling her brothers that she was a witch.

At first, they'd been a little scared of her, not really wanting to be around her, and that had made her more upset than if they had taunted her. Then, after a couple of weeks of frostiness and wondering if she was going to turn them into frogs, they started to tease her after Nick found her at 2am hiding under the covers, reading her spell books by torch and they realised that she hadn't changed a bit. Now that it had been six months, they were kind of jealous of her being able to go away and learn how to do _magic._

But today - today was 1st September.

She hadn't slept a wink. She watched as her clock clicked over from 31st August to the date she'd circled 4 times on her calendar, the date she'd been religiously counting down to. The excitement was so much that every time she closed her eyes she'd just squeal and open them again, so she settled for reading her books, even though she could recite them verbatim.

By 4am, she'd packed and unpacked her trunk three times, despite the fact she'd been packed since last week.

By 5am, she'd given up entirely and headed down to the kitchen, where both her parents were already nursing coffee.

"Can't sleep, mija?" her mother asked softly, placing a cup of tea in front of her. Amy nodded.

"I'm just too excited," she whispered, taking a sip of tea. Her leg wouldn't stop bouncing under the table and Victor laughed.

"I can see that," he said, putting his hand on her leg in an attempt to keep it from jiggling; Amy giggled, and tried her hardest to sit still. It felt like every nerve in her body was tingling, and she just wanted to be on that damn train already.

They sat for a while discussing other matters, and Amy helped her dad with the crossword, reminding them all of Amy's birthday morning; only there was no knock at the door, no world shattering news. In fact, Amy's stomach growling at about 7am was what broke their comfortable morning.

"Right, my darling," Camila said, rising from her seat and heading towards the stove. "Since it's your last morning with us until Christmas, you can choose breakfast."

Amy felt a pang of sadness she hadn't felt so far. She would certainly miss her family so much, even her brothers, but even through the sadness she knew this was the right thing for her. "Eggs," she said with a smile. Eggs were Camila's specialty, and she kissed her daughter's forehead as she got her butter and eggs out ready on the counter.

"Are you packed?" Victor asked, fussing even though he knew Amy had packed everything last week.

Amy nodded. "Just my books. Mum says I shouldn't wear my robes to travel in."

"Yes," Victor nodded in agreement. "You don't want to attract unwanted attention. I'm sure there will be somewhere you can change on the train."

The eggs were slid in front of Amy, and she devoured them at speed. As soon as she was done, she raced upstairs to shower and get ready.

Soon she was running back down the stairs, dressed modestly for the Autumn weather in jeans and a jumper, her uniform pressed neatly in her trunk. She dragged her trunk behind it, it clanged off each stair as she made her way down.

"You ready?" Victor said, and Amy nodded eagerly as she ran back up the stairs, returning with Oreo in his cage. Victor took her trunk to put it into the boot of the car.

"Clothes? Books? Wand? Uniform? Ticket?" Camila fussed, running her hand over Amy's hair.

"Check, check, check, check, and check!" Amy cheered, flourishing her ticket at her mother. At Camila's satisfied nod, she slid the ticket safely into the small side bag she was taking with her, that had her _'Hogwarts, A History'_ book (second favourite to _'A History of Magic'_ ) stashed inside for reading on the train.

"Come on then squirt, let's get you away!" her brother Nick yelled from behind as David jumped on her back and ruffled her hair.

"Shotgun!" their oldest brother Tony screamed, before Camila told him calmly if anyone was riding shotgun, it would her.

Trying to get all eight Santiago siblings into the car was a challenge, but eventually they managed to get them all in and they were on their way to King's Cross.

Soon enough they were disembarking from the car at 10:30am, Victor pushing Amy's trunk and Amy carrying Oreo in his cage as they made their way hurriedly to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

As Holt had told them, there was a blank brick wall in the middle between Platforms Nine and Ten.

"Just walk through the wall, indeed," Victor said, feeling foolish. He took a deep breath, and he could feel Amy doing the same on his right hand side.

Together, the family strode up to the wall, almost breaking into a trot as they approached the wall. Amy held her breath as they were inches away from the wall, expecting impact; but instead, they went through, coming out the other side to a very busy platform.

A gleaming red steam train was waiting at the platform, billowing steam around. There was _hundreds_ of people on the platform, a mixture of children of all ages milling around; the hooting of owls in cages and the meowing of cats; yells of 'your wand!' as children forgot their belongings; the hollers of friends reunited after a long summer apart.

Amy was relieved to see almost all were not wearing their uniform.

She boarded the train and found an empty compartment; Victor helped her load it in and then they walked back out so Amy could say a proper goodbye.

"Mija," Camila breathes, wrapping Amy in a massive hug which she returns with enthusiasm. "I know that this is the best thing for you but my heart hurts seeing you leave."

"I know, Mama," Amy said, slightly muffled as she spoke into the crook of her mother's neck. "I'm gonna miss you all so much."

"If you ever want to come home, all you have to do is say the word and we'll come get you," Victor said, getting his own hug from Amy.

She pulled back, wiping tears from her face. "I know. My ' _Hogwarts, A History_ ' book says that we can use Hogwarts owls to send letters home - I'll write every week, I promise."

"Send us a souvenir," Tony chimed from behind her parents, as the rest of her brothers nodded. Amy hugged each of them in turn before they had a massive group hug, nearly swallowing Amy whole. Only the whistle of the train conductor broke them apart, and Amy climbed aboard the train.

"Love you all so much! Miss you already!" she called, running to her compartment so she could wave as the train departed. And, as Holt had said, the minute the clock struck 11am the doors closed by themselves and the train started pulling away. Amy kept waving until her parents had vanished from view.

She allowed a couple of tears to fall before she brushed them away and pulled out ' _Hogwarts, a History'_ and started from the beginning.

***

About an hour into the train ride, a small, round faced girl with blonde hair entered the compartment and waved at Amy.

"Do you mind if I sit here? My sisters' friends just took over our compartment."

"Sure," Amy said, putting her bookmark in her book and placing it down beside her. "I'm Amy."

"Kylie, Kylie Baker," the girl said, sticking out her hand. Amy shook it with a grin. "How awesome is it to _finally_ be going to Hogwarts?!"

"So awesome!" Amy gushed. "Although, I've only known about the wizarding world for six months so it's only been six months of waiting."

"Oh, are you muggle-born?" Kylie said, eyes wide. "That's _so_ cool! Both my parents are wizards, I hardly know any muggles. I've always wondered - what's a tel-e-fone?"

Amy laughed as she explained the function of a telephone, whilst Kylie countered by giving her an in-depth review of the Floo Network.

They passed the remaining hours like this, discussing Muggle v Wizarding worlds and explaining some of the more obscure items to each other. They bought snacks from the trolley, and tears rolled down Kylie's face as Amy got the fright of her life when her chocolate frog leapt from the box. They bonded over the weird flavours of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans, and then it was Amy's turn to hold her sides in laughter as Kylie bit enthusiastically into an earwax flavoured bean and spat it out over the compartment.

A knock at the door broke the girls out of their laughter. It was an older girl, with soft blonde girls and wearing robes with a blue trim and a shiny badge gleaming on her chest. "It's time to changed, nearly there!" she called, before moving onto the next compartment. Amy could hear her repeating the statement there, too.

The girls couldn't stop grinning at each other as they quickly changed into their uniforms. Amy shrugged on her black robes, fingering the Hogwarts crest that lay there, waiting for her house to be revealed. She'd read all about the houses in ' _Hogwarts, A History'._

"What house are you hoping to be in?" Amy asked Kylie once they were both changed. She could feel the train slowing; they were approaching.

"Gryffindor," Kylie said without hesitation. "My two sisters are both in Gryffindor. What about you?"

"Probably Ravenclaw. I do love my books," Amy grinned, but deep inside she was torn between wanting to stay with her new friend and just being thankful she was going.

The train slowed to a stop and the girls departed the train - "Don't worry, they'll take our trunks up for us Amy, just leave them" - and stood on the platform.

"First years over here! Follow me!" a massive giant loomed over them, although he had a friendly face and a warm smile beneath a beard that was probably as big as Amy herself. He raised a giant hand and pointed right towards the lake.

Amy followed the crowd of smaller children making their way over to where the giant was pointing, and further down the crowd Amy made out the dark haired boy she'd met in Madam Malkin's robe shop.

"First years, gather 'round," the giant boomed, and Amy kept close to Kylie. "My name is Hagrid, and I'm the grounds keeper and keeper of keys at Hogwarts. It's my job to get you to the castle in time for the sorting ceremony. 4 to a boat!"

In front of her, on the lake, sat hundreds of small boats. Kylie grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her towards one. They just got settled and were quietly squealing about being literally _minutes_ from being sorted when two boys clambered into the back of their boat. Amy turned around to see who it was and came face-to-face with the brown haired boy she'd seen getting robes.

"Hey!" Amy said, smiling.

"Oh, hi!" the boy's grin was just as big as when she'd seen him getting robes. "Funny running into you again! I didn't introduce myself last time. Poor manners. My name's Charles."

"Amy," she replied, shaking his outstretched hand. "This is Kylie. What's up with your friend?"

Charles' friend was hunched over the side of the boat, nearly tipping the boat into the lake.

"Get up dude, you're gonna make us fall in! I refused to get sorted soaking wet!"

The other boy sat up. "Sorry, I was checking for merpeople. Gina _swore_ there are merpeople in the lake."

"Did you see any?!"

"Yes, that's why I've shouted it from the rooftops. I'm Jake," he said to Amy and Kylie, with a roll of his eyes towards Charles. The girls repeated their names back with a small wave. The boats gave a jolt and glided off over the water, despite the fact no-one was steering or rowing. Magic is so _cool._

The rest of the boat ride passed without much incident, with Jake and Kylie bartering back and forth with 'facts' about Hogwarts, with the other strenuously denying the fact was true. Amy just sat quietly, taking it all in, whilst Charles was beaming at Jake and occasionally standing up for his friend.

Eventually Jake and Kylie's fact bickering faded into background noise as the boats rounded a corner and the castle came into view. And no, ' _Hogwarts, A History'_ had not done the castle justice. In the dying light it was lit up, it's turrets extending high into the sky. It was majestic, and a little intimidating. Amy couldn't believe she'd call this place _home_ for the next seven years.

She felt a nudge on her arm and turned to see Kylie, grinning widely. She beamed back, seeing that Charles and Jake were doing the same thing.

"This is so awesome!" Kylie exploded next to her, and Amy laughed aloud. The boats docked somewhere under the castle, and they followed Hagrid up a lane towards the castle. Amy could feel her whole body vibrating with excitement as they walked into a large foyer. Professor Holt was waiting for them at the top of a set of grand stairs, wearing the same deep purple robes he was wearing when he had come to visit Amy on her birthday. As he held up a hand, the excited babble that had followed the first years since leaving the boats immediately dissipated.

"Good evening, first-years," he said, his voice as emotionless but intimidating as always. "Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few moments you will proceed through to the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony. Please wait until your name is called before you come forward. Once you have been sorted, please proceed promptly to your house table." He turned away for a second, then turned back to the group. "We're ready."

Amy grinned at Kylie as they ascended the stairs. The Great Hall was like nothing she'd ever seen, with four long vertical wooden tables taking up almost the entireity of the hall. A long wooden one stood horizontally, with adults seated; Amy imagined this must be the teacher's table. The room was lit with hundreds of candles that floated above their heads, as if dangling on fishing wire; the ceiling was a dark navy, clear but glittering with stars.

"Did you know the ceiling is charmed to look like the sky outside?" Kylie whispered to her, and Amy smiled back.

"I did! I read about it in ' _Hogwarts, A History'_ ," she whispered back, noticing the crowd had stopped. In front of them, on some steps, sat a worn hat on a stool. _The Sorting Hat,_ her mind supplied, having read about it in the same chapter as the ceiling.

Professor Holt stood behind the stool, holding a large scroll. "When I call your name, come forward and I will place the sorting hat on your head. We will proceed in alphabetical order by surname. Annalise Anderson."

A taller, red headed girl broke free from the pack and on shaky legs walked forward and sat on the stool. Holt placed the hat on her head and for a couple of seconds Amy could see Annalise nodding, as if the hat was talking to her.

"Ravenclaw!" the hat called, and the table on the far left cheered loudly as Annalise walked off in that direction.

"Kylie Baker," Holt called, and Amy grabbed and squeezed Kylie's hand tightly as she walked through the crowd. The hat took barely any time before it shouted ' _Gryffindor!'_ and Amy cheered as Kylie - with a look of pure relief on her face - nearly ran towards the table decked in red and gold.

"Charles Boyle," Holt called next, and Charles walked forward. He was also placed in Gryffindor, and walked towards the table looking a mixture between elated and faint.

After a while, the names became a little bit of a blur. She tried to keep track of the names, but there was so many her mind kept wandering. She did catch a few: 'Rosa Diaz' went to Gryffindor, whilst 'Emma Hunter' went to Ravenclaw, alongside 'Sidney Brown'. 'Jennifer Gildenhorn' went to Slytherin, alongside 'Gina Linetti' and 'Harry McArthur'. 'Terrence Jeffords' went to Hufflepuff with 'Fiona Kirk' and 'Casey Cook'.

"Jacob Peralta," Holt called, and Amy saw the boy she had shared a boat with alongside Charles swagger up to the stool. The hat barely touched his head before it yelled '' _Gryffindor!'_ and Jacob - Jake? He had introduced himself with a nickname - fist punched the air and strolled over to sit beside Charles.

Amy realised it would soon be her turn. Her palms started to sweat, as she barely heard 'Sophia Perez' go to Ravenclaw, or 'Sharon Roland' go to Hufflepuff. It felt like her ears had been stuffed with cotton wool.

"Amy Santiago."

She took a deep breath and willed her feet to start moving. Was she walking really slow? Or too fast? She couldn't tell, it was like being underwater, everything was distorted and weird and she couldn't hear or think or breathe -

Then the stool was in front of her. She shook as she sat, and felt the hat sink onto her head.

"Miss Santiago," a voice hissed in her ear. "I can hear your thoughts. You're nervous."

" _Yes,"_ she thought.

"Never fear, I will take good care of you. I see two halves of you, Miss Santiago. You are smart, yes? Very witty. Very conscientious. Excelling in academia. But there is also a spark to you, a bravery. I would encourage this bravery, Miss Santiago. It will make you who you are destined to become."

" _Really?"_ Amy thought, a little perplexed. There are many words she would use to describe herself, but _brave_ wouldn't have been one of them.

"Really," the hat said. "Gryffindor!" it shouted to the hall, and the applause came up. Amy opened her eyes and saw Kylie on her feet, clapping ferociously. 

Amy ran over beside Kylie and hugged her, they sat down, both beaming. 'Madison Taylor' went to Slytherin, whilst 'Theodore Wells' went to Ravenclaw. Finally, 'Kyle Young' went to Hufflepuff and the Sorting was finished.

Holt vanished the scroll, and took his place at the table. An older man stood, wearing robes of emerald green. "First years, welcome. My name is Professor McGintley, and I am Headmaster. If you work hard, trust your friends and ask many questions, you will flourish here at Hogwarts. Now - let's eat!"

Amy looked at the bare tables, but caught Kylie was smirking out of the corner of her eye. A split-second later, every surface of the table was suddenly filled with golden plates, piled high with every type of food imaginable. Amy felt her mouth watering at the sight - it felt like it had been a long time since those Bertie Bott's beans back on the train.

As she reached for some potatoes, she heard the conversation with the people next to her turn to bloodline.

"I'm a pureblood, but my dad is a total butthead. Raised by my Momma," Jake said around a mouthful of hamburger, and Amy's stomach turned a little at the sight of half-eaten beef.

"I'm half-blood. Mum's a muggle, Dad's a wizard. Nasty shock for her when she found out!" Charles laughed around a piece of carrot. "So I was primarily raised by my Dad and his family. We travelled all over the world together!"

"Pureblood," Kylie said, shrugging a shoulder. "But my new friend Amy is a muggle-born, and she told me what a tel-e-fone is, so I'm pretty much, like, at one with the muggles now."

Jake sprayed hamburger over the table.

"Gross!" Amy said, turning her nose up, and at that Kylie burst out laughing, which set Charles off, who was laughing whilst banging a hamburger-choking Jake on the back, and eventually Amy couldn't help but let out a giggle. And for the first time, she felt like she had _friends_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so guys, what do you think of chapter two? hopefully recognising plenty of names that will pop up throughout the season.  
> and don't worry ... the jake and amy rivalry we all know and love will come ...


	3. first year: part two

**CHAPTER THREE**

Amy woke up with the sunlight streaming through the windows. And someone poking her in the shoulder. Incessantly.

"Wakey wakey!" A voice chimed in her ear, at much too loud a volume for this time in the morning. "Wake up, sleepyhead!"

Amy sat bolt upright, her heart beating a million miles an hour. Her new friend - and roommate - Kylie was standing next to her bed, already fully dressed. Amy felt her face go as red as the curtains around her bed with embarrassment at the thought of sleeping in on her first morning at Hogwarts.

"Oh, my god!" Amy shouted, jumping out out of her bed, getting slightly tangled in the sheets. "What time is it?"

"Too damn early, weirdo," a muffled voice came from a few beds away. Rosa? The dark-haired girl had kept herself to herself last night when they were choosing beds and introducing themselves to each other. Kylie and Amy had automatically chosen beds next to each other.

"7," Kylie replied, sitting at the foot of her bed. "But I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd wake you."

Amy went an even deeper shade of red, if that were possible. "Oh my god I can't believe I slept so late," she exclaimed, grabbing the robes from the side of her bed. "Gimme two minutes," she added, running to the bathroom that was attached to the dormitory, not really paying attention to the variety of knobs in the shower her rush to get dressed.

She quickly threw her robes on, looking at the red trim as she exited the bathroom. She hadn't realised her robes had changed overnight from the plain black robes into Gryffindor ones. As she came back to her bed, she saw the lion on Kylie's robes and smiled.

"Ready?" Kylie asked, swinging her legs off Amy's bed. "Finally, thank god. I'm starving."

The two exited Gryffindor common room together, Kylie confident that she could remember the way to the Great Hall.

Half an hour later, they finally came to the doors of the Great Hall. "Oh thank god," Amy said, entering the busy hall. "I said we should have gone right!"

"Well in my defence we did end up going right, it just after we went left," Kylie shrugged a shoulder.

Amy rolled her eyes and entered a (now packed) Great Hall. The ceiling above was a clear blue, with small wisps of white clouds occasionally drifting past. She spotted Jake and Charles sitting down one end of the Gyffindor table, with a girl in Slytherin robes sitting on Jake's right.

As the girls approached, Amy could see Kylie eyeing the girl warily. Did she know her? Amy smiled as she sat down to try and neutralise Kylie's suddenly odd behaviour.

Jake and Charles waved a hello, and the girl rolled her eyes and slapped Jake on the arm.

"Oh, sorry," Jake said, spraying toast crumbs across the table. "Amy and Kylie, this is Gina Linetti. We basically grew up together. Gina, this is Amy and Kylie."

"Hi," Amy said, whilst Kylie just nodded, very interested in putting sausages onto her plate.

"Well, this has been enlightening Jacob, but I better get back to my friends. Adios, hermano," Gina said, walking away with a flourish of her green and silver robes.

"What is up with you?" Amy whispered to Kylie as soon as Gina was out of earshot, an eyebrow raised almost in accusation.

"She doesn't like Gina 'cos she's a Slytherin," Charles said, matter-of-factly. Clearly Amy hadn't been as quiet as she had thought.

Amy frowned, halfway through picking up some bacon. It slipped off her fork, but apparently Jake had lightening-fast reflexes as he leaned over and picked up her plate and caught her bacon before it hit the table. "Thanks," she muttered, a little embarrassed. "Why would it matter that she was in a different house?"

"Some people," Jake shot a look at Kylie, who was slowly turning as red as the piping on her robes, "judge people based on what house they get sorted into. So what that a few of the wizards in Slytherin turn out to be bad people? Doesn't mean they're all bad."  


"Oh give over," Kylie hissed, leaning over her plate. Her face was red at this point but she looked angry rather than embarrassed now. "You know that every witch or wizard that has gone bad has been in Slytherin. They're a dirty lot." Her tone was quite unlike Amy had heard from her before, but she had only known her twenty-four hours. That wasn't long enough to know.

Jake looked enraged. "Well, Gina is the closest thing I have to a sister. So, take you and your ignorant ideals elsewhere."

Amy had never felt so uncomfortable in her life.

"C'mon, Amy," Kylie said, pulling on her arm. "Let's go sit down there. Leave these guys to discuss the Dark Arts."

Jake stabbed a sausage with so much ferocity it bounced off his plate, and Amy went with Kylie reluctantly.

***

During breakfast Holt had given them timetables, full of unusual lessons like 'Defence against the Dark Arts' and 'Transfiguation'. Amy was literally thrumming with excitement to try them all, and she almost wished she had every lesson today. Although also she didn't, as then it would all be over and done with way too quickly.

First up for the Gryffindors was Potions, with Professor Wuntch in the Dungeons. Amy followed a bunch of first-years down, grateful they had Potions with the Hufflepuffs, not the Slytherins, who headed upstairs with the Ravenclaws.

"Welcome, first-years," said a woman with a tight, unpleasant face and a severe blonde bun as they walked into the Dungeon. She stopped them before the entered the room. Her black robes added to her severe look. "You will have a Potions partner for the year. Your grade for this year will depend on how well you work with your partner."

Amy could feel Kylie edging slightly closer to her hopefully.

Wuntch had a long piece of parchment in her hands. She read off a few names Amy didn't recognise, but it was clearly boys with girls. "Diaz, you go with Boyle. Jeffords with Baker. Peralta, with Santiago. Find a bench with your partner. Quickly!"

Amy could feel Kylie sighing next to her, but she was just relieved that Kylie wasn't paired with Jake. She'd never hear the end of it otherwise. She saw Jake headed to a bench near the back and sighed as she headed up that way. Amy would have preferred the bench nearest Wuntch, where she could be seen all the time. At her primary school before she'd arrived at Hogwarts, she'd chosen the desk directly in front of the teacher so she could ask for feedback.

As Amy took her seat at the bench, she could feel Jake's awkwardness radiating off him. She didn't speak, just put her bag down and perched herself on the uncomfortable stool.

"Look," Jake burst out, clearly unable to keep it in. "You don't believe what Kylie says, do you?"

Amy turned, a little taken aback. "I don't know," she said honestly, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm totally new to all of this, so I don't really have enough knowledge to have a full opinion."

Jake's mouth was catching flies. "You talk like you're forty," he noted. He pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill that, judging by the angle of the feather, had definitely been squashed in his bag at some point. "But it's good enough for me." He smiled at Amy, who felt a little bit like she'd betrayed Kylie, but also like she'd passed a test.  


She felt herself smiling back before a massive crack sounded through the classroom - Amy jumped a foot in the air, Jake stuck his fist in his mouth to stop laughing aloud - Wuntch had used her wand and was clearly signalling for everyone to stop talking.

"She's scary," Jake said out of the corner of his mouth, and Amy grinned a little as she ducked her head, writing down what Wuntch's enhanced piece of chalk was writing on the whiteboard about silly incantations, a moment behind the teacher's speech.  
Wuntch whirled around and glared at Jake, who at least had the good grace to blush as he dipped his head, his quill scratching frantically across the parchment.

The rest of the lesson passed with little incident, only the scratching of quills and and an occasional sigh. Amy was slightly disappointed that she didn't get to try any actual potion making, but she remembered that it'll just be even more exciting next time when she did.

"What's next?" she heard Jake ask her when they were packing up their things.

"Can't find your own timetable?" she snarked, but Jake only grinning as Amy pulled it - still pristine, of course - from her bag. "Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Oh, yaaaaas!" Jake crowed, pumping his fist in the air. "I remember now; I was so buzzed this morning when I saw we get it on the first day. So awesome."

"It is awesome, Jake!" the most enthusiastic voice in the world piped up. Charles had run over to Jake almost as soon as Wuntch had told them to pack up.

Charles and Jake headed off, but Amy hung back from them and waited for Kylie, who was scowling.

"I see you're all pally-pally with Peralta," she remarked, lifting an eyebrow. Amy sighed.

"I'm not getting involved with this," Amy said, lifting her hands into a 'surrender' gesture. "I have to be partners with him all year. I'm not having it being awkward because of your silly argument."

"Ugh, you sound so mature all the time," Kylie moaned, but Amy tipped her head back and laughed as she pulled Kylie towards where she was sure the DADA class was held. They chatted about Wuntch all the way along the corridor, before stopping short. She could see Jake and Charles outside the classroom, alongside the quiet girl Rosa. They were definitely outside the right classroom, but Amy's heart was sinking.

They had DADA with the Slytherins.

"Ooh, goodie," Kylie said as they caught sight of the green-edged robes, rubbing her hands together. "Are they actually going to teach us how to defend ourselves against you? Probably wise. Watch them, Amy - they'll hex you as soon as your back is turned."

"Leave it, Baker," Jake snarled, stepping forwards. "Take your backwards views elsewhere."

Gina stepped forward at this, putting her hand on Jake's shoulder. "Don't worry, Jakey," she'd said, in what Amy would describe later as a disinterested tone, "if this little flea wants to air her views let her do it. No-one cares."

"You dare call me a flea?" Kylie stepped in line with Gina, almost nose-to-nose. "want to say that again?"

"Darling," Gina drawled, "I'll even spell it for you. Since you're incapable. F-L-E-A."

"Is there a problem here?" The DADA teacher had come out into the corridor, a frown on her face.

Kylie was fuming. Amy wanted the ground to swallow her whole. Jake was smirking.

And they hadn't even entered the class yet.

There was a moment of silence, with Gina and Kylie eyeing each other up. Eventually Kylie stepped back, beaten. "No, Professor," she spat, her teeth grinding against each other.

"Then lose your tone. What's your name?"

"Kylie Baker."

"Five points from Gryffindor, Baker. First-years, my name is Professor Crawford. Come in and take a seat."

Amy wanted to just disappear, they headed into the class and Amy sat beside Kylie, although she felt like every eye in the class was on her. Jake had sat with Gina, leaving Charles sitting behind him. Amy had to slightly smothered a giggle as Charles looked at the back of Jake's head with a look one could only describe as longing.

Thankfully there hadn't been much time to talk, as Professor Crawford had immediately started talking and others were frantically beginning take notes.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts will be an incredibly important tool as you take your place in Wizarding society. Dark Arts, for those who doesn't know, is any magic that can be used to harm, and usually involves harming the individual's soul ..."

Much like Potions, the lesson passed with Crawford going over the basics of DADA and Dark Arts in general. The more she learned, the more Amy saw that maybe Kylie was actually in the wrong here. It seemed like Dark Arts were only committed by the vilest of people, and to say all people in one house were vile was a bit of a stretch.

Amy didn't get a chance to talk to Kylie much about it; she wanted to do it when they were alone. But they seemed to be constantly around others. They had lunch after DADA, then it was History of Magic, which Amy had been thrilled about seeing but Kylie had assured her was actually super boring. Once Amy had met the Professor, Professor Stentley, she had had to make her peace with that Kylie was in fact right about this one. Professor Stentley was young and seemed nice but didn't seem to realise he contradicted himself in almost every sentence, causing his charmed chalk to repeatedly score things out on the board behind him as it tried (in vain) to correct his mistakes.

It ended up being nearly bedtime by the time Amy and Kylie had a quiet moment together, and even then Rosa was sitting on her bed writing something when Amy and Kylie entered the dormitory.

Amy quietly summoned up all of her courage, and Kylie whirled around.

"What's up with you? You've been weird all day," she said, sitting on her bed.

"Because I think you're in the wrong!" Amy burst out, her volume louder than she anticipated. Kylie stood up and even Rosa's head lifted up from her work, a little surprised.

"Sorry?" Kylie said, raising an eyebrow.

Amy took a deep breath, risking losing the only friend she'd ever had, but she knew she couldn't stand to the side and let this one slide. Even if Kylie never spoke to her again. "I never knew about Dark Arts until Crawford taught us today. And what I took from today's lesson was that the Dark Arts are only practised by really awful, awful people. And that's a horrible thing to accuse someone of when you don't even know them, from only their house. I don't know why you would do that, and I don't know if I can be still be friends with you if you continue to do it." Her voice was firm.

Kylie blinked. Once, then twice.

Then her eyes filled up with tears.

"Damn, Santiago," Rosa said from across the room, impressed. "Good speech."

Kylie was wiping tears from her face as she sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice wavering. "I haven't really said why I think that. So I see how it can seem really bad."

Amy sat down on her bed, waiting for Kylie to speak.

"My Dad is an Auror. Dark wizard catcher," she said, at Amy's frown. "Like Muggle police." Amy 'ahhed' and motioned for Kylie to continue. "A couple of years ago, he was hunting a really bad dude. A young guy, not long out of school. He was killing muggles left, right and centre. Torturing them too. Dad caught him, and his whole crew, but Dad was tortured for a while with some Unforgiveable Curses. He only went back to work a few months ago. He couldn't walk for months, or talk. He was in hospital a whole year. Once the trial began, we found out the whole crew was three years of Slytherins, and they had plotted and planned the whole thing in their common room over the years."

Amy sighed deeply. That didn't help, but gave her some explanation as to why Kylie had been acting the way she was.

"I see. Well, that so horrible, but you can't take it out on Gina and the Slytherins. You can't say they're all the same."

Kylie nodded, her tears still running down her face. "I know. I'm just so angry for my Dad. I just ... the slight of them makes me feel a bit sick. I can't help but lash out." She rubbed the tears away forcefully.

"Well, you're gonna have to help it!" Amy realised her volume was rising, and took a breath. "I mean, we're gonna have to see them for the next few years, so you're gonna have to get used to them," Amy said. "I'm not saying be their best friend, but you can't be starting fights for the next seven years."

Kylie sighed, and nodded again. "I have some apologies to make."

Amy agreed. "Tomorrow, though. It's late."

Both girls climbed into bed, and Amy lay in the darkness for a few minutes before a quiet voice drifted over.

"Thanks Amy."

"No problem, Kylie," Amy said, her voice equally quiet in the dark.

"Go to sleep, weirdos." Amy grinned as Rosa's voice joined the fray, and she was glad her outburst hadn't hurt her friendship with Kylie.

***

The next day, Kylie was up and gone before Amy had even woken up. She dressed quickly, and headed down for breakfast. A quick scan of the Great Hall showed her that Kylie was sitting at the Slytherin table with Gina. Although they didn't seem friendly, they weren't clawing at each other's throats, which Amy took to be a good sign.

"What's your friend doing beside Gina?" Jake said, making Amy jump slightly as he entered the Great Hall behind her. "If she's giving her hassle, I swear I will - "

"Stop," Amy said, holding out a hand to hold Jake back from crossing the Great Hall to the Slytherin table as he was about to do. "She'll come to you when she's ready."

Jake raised an eyebrow, but Amy just headed towards the Gryffindor table. Jake appeared to be in split between marching over to the Slytherin table anyway, and heading to the Gryffindor table. After a minute he chose the latter, sitting down opposite Amy and roughly scooping some eggs onto his place. Amy could see him throwing murderous glances at Kylie and Gina across the room.

It felt like an eternity of silence before Kylie joined them. There were a few dry tears on her face but otherwise she seemed ok.

"Alright?" Amy asked, crunching on some toast.

Kylie speared a sausage. "We're ... on our way."

"What do you mean? Why were you talking to Gina? If you're hassling her again, I will - "

"I was apologising, actually," Kylie said, a little bit of smugness leaking into her voice. "And I guess I somewhat need to say sorry to you too, Jake."

As she told Jake her story, Amy could see his face soften slightly. Once she was finished, Amy could see him chewing his eggs with a thoughtful look on his face.

"First of all, that sucks," he said, and Kylie nodded. "Secondly, even though it sucks, it doesn't give you the right to treat people like you have done."

"I know," Kylie said. "But I'll start working hard to make it right."

Jake took an extra scoop of eggs. "It might take a while to make it right. But I think it's good of you to try. What's first on our timetable today?"

Amy smiled; that was probably as close as they were going to get today. But it was a step in the right direction; she felt Kylie relax next to her.

Jake cheered loudly when Amy announced they were flying first thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! hope you're all enjoying the story so far, and if you're self-isolating/on lockdown - staying safe and not going too stir crazy! a quick question for y'all. do you like the story being from amy's point of view? or do you want it mixed? i was going to keep it from amy's as she is the one that has entered this world, but happy to mix it up if you'd like it :)


	4. first year: part three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys. another chapter brought to you by quarantine! I'll have this fic finished by the end of the quarantine at this rate!! let me know what you think, and of course of any b99 storylines you'd like me to work into the story. i know it seems very much the same characters at this point but don't worry, the others will start to feature as we get further in! enjoy!
> 
> p.s. if any of you can guess the character mr schurman is in the b99 world, you get a prize!

** CHAPTER FOUR **

After Kylie apologised, things didn't snap back to how they used to be. Amy could feel the uneasiness in the silence; the way Kylie went to say something, then caught herself; Jake's hands tightening on whatever he was holding until his knuckles went white, a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes; Charles filling the awkward silences with a voice an octave too high and a smidge too loud. In Kylie's defence, she never said anything about Gina or the Slytherins again.

After a few weeks, life at Hogwarts became normal for Amy; a weird, wonderful, strange and exciting kind of normal. She sent letters home to her parents each week. Her two favourite classes were Charms, taught by the Deputy Headmaster, Professor Holt and Transfiguration, taught by Professor Cozner. Both had the same deadpan, cold yet professional way of teaching that made Amy yearn for their approval; so much so Kylie and Jake made fun of her on a daily basis, one of the only things they could agree on. Potions with Wuntch was interesting - although she enjoyed the subject, she hated the Professor. Jake usually had something funny to say about Wuntch, at which she usually couldn't help but giggle. She dreaded the day the stern Professor would overhear him and get them both in trouble.

And Flying - well, Flying was interesting. In her second class, her broomstick hit her on the head with such force she ended up in the Hospital Wing. Mr Schurman (the Healer in charge of Hogwarts' Hospital Wing) made the comment that he'd never seen anyone in the Hospital Wing with concussion caused by a broomstick with both feet still on the ground. Amy swore after that class that she'd just cheer from the stands, which she did with the rest of her classmates. ' _I'll be Seeker this time next year!_ ' he said every time they made the trek down to the Quidditch Pitch, taking great delight in being able to explain every detail of Quidditch to Amy (who only took half of it in at any one time).

Soon the crisp Autumn gave way to a harsh Scottish winter, and more often than not a thick layer of snow lay on the ground and softly fell from the eternally grey sky. The end-of-term homeworks were piling high; Professors were already mentioned end-of-year exams, which made Amy's stomach churn.

A cold evening in December found Amy curled up in front of the common room fire, frantically writing a Charms essay (' _How important is the correct pronunciation of vowels in incantations for successful spell casting?'_ ) that was due for the next day. Although Holt had asked for a roll of parchment on the subject, Amy had decided at the last minute she wanted to write two, just to make sure he knew she wasn't a slacker. It was late, and Kylie had already gone to bed; she'd given up trying to convince Amy that the extra parchment wasn't worth it.

Amy's frantic scratching was brought to a halt by the door to the common room slamming open, and Jake and Charles barrelling it through it. They were in high spirits, tears of mirth running down their faces and snow coating their hair. Jake shook his head back and forth like a dog, wet snow flying everywhere; this prompted even more giggles from Charles that were so high pitched they almost made Amy's ears hurt. They seemed to be having way too much fun for this time of night.

"What were you two doing out after hours?" Amy asked, turning around and kneeling on the couch, essay by her knees. Jake and Charles froze like deer in the headlights.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" Jake responded, almost glaring at her. Charles still looked too shocked to speak.

Amy rolled her eyes. "I had an essay to finish. What were you doing out? You know we're not allowed out at night."

"Alright, Switty," Charles said, ignoring Jake's soft _'Swotty, Charles_ ', "we were out doing fun stuff. Something you'd know nothing about."  
  
"Bit harsh, Charles. Look, Amy," he said, holding his hands up. "Homework is so draining and the Professors are piling it on like mad. We just thought everyone could use some fun."

"Some _fun?_ With exams around the corner? Are you mad?" Amy said, working so her voice didn't rise too loud. "Well, don't come crying to me when you fail and have to repeat first year." She turned around with a huff and returned to her essay.

Jake rolled his eyes. "We won't," he said, walking round to sit opposite her to dry off against the fire before going to bed. "Erm, wasn't Holt's essay only one roll of parchment?"

Amy stiffened. "Yes. But I like doing extra work so I thought I'd write two. There is so much to write about anyway, this extra roll really lets me go in-depth."

Jake cackled. "Yes, because there is so much depth in the correct pronunciation of vowels in spell incantation. You're _such_ a swot."

Amy sat up straight, her quill falling to the side. "I am not!" she retorted, old wounds stinging slightly as her old primary school nickname came back to haunt her. "I just like to be the best. There is a difference."

"Oh, I know all about being the best," Jake said, puffing out his chest. "I am the best wizard in our year."

Amy scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"I am!" Jake stood up in indignation. "I've received O's in _every_ essay set so far."

Annoyingly, he was right. He had gloated every time. There was no doubt that Jake was a talented wizard, but Amy was better. She had a strong work ethic on her side. She had never once seen Jake do any kind of homework, but still managed to achieve Outstanding's every time. But so had Amy.

"I bet you I will get a higher mark on this essay for Holt!" Amy said, pointing her finger in his face.

Jake's face lit up, and Amy frowned. This wasn't the reaction she was expecting.

"A bet, eh?" Jake pondered, and Amy broke out into a grin. Yes, a good wager. She had bets many a time with her brothers - usually involving other brothers and/or their parents - and had won a fair few since she'd begged them to let her be a part of it all. "What's your terms?"

"If I get a higher grade, you carry my bags everywhere for a week." Amy crossed her arms, smiling. Jake groaned a little. She knew why; she liked to carry extra books she thought she might need, and her bag was notoriously heavy. "What's yours?"

"If I get a higher grade," Jake said slowly, "you will do all my homework for a week."

He stuck his hand out confidently, and Amy grinned, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Deal."

***

A week later, Amy skipped down the corridor towards Holt's classroom. Kylie laughed beside her.

"Do you really think you'll beat Peralta?" she asked. Whilst tensions between Jake and Kylie had definitely thawed recently, they had gotten into a habit of calling each other by surname - a habit which seemed to have stuck. Kylie had found Jake and Charles' prank last week - they had made it snow fairly heavily from every classroom - hilariously funny, something that had helped the thaw between the two.

Amy smirked. "Yep." She popped the 'p' with a satisfying sound. "He never does any work. Did you hear him bragging to the whole common room about how he managed to do that essay for Professor Cozner in half an hour? Like, _please._ I took me three hours. There is no way he managed to finish it in - "

"Ready to have your ass handed to you, Santiago?" Jake interrupted her as he walked past her, a smirk on his face with his faithful sidekick glued to his side. The way Charles followed Jake around was almost a little creepy, but it also seemed to just be the way they were so no-one mentioned it. Amy noticed the use of her surname - the game was _on._

"Yeah _Santiago,_ get ready to have your ass in your hands!" Charles said a beat too late, following Jake into the classroom. Amy heard Jake talk Charles through the saying 'getting you ass handed to you' and she chuckled. Charles often didn't really get sayings, especially those that stemmed from the Muggle world. Jake seemed to have quite a common knowledge of them despite being pure-blood.

Amy took her seat with Kylie at the front of the classroom - Kylie had tried to pull her up the back of the class but Amy liked Holt's classes, so insisted on the front - and waited patiently for the homework to be handed back (Holt was a man of routine, so she knew that he'd hand back the homework before moving onto today's task).

"Quit it," Kylie said, prodding Amy's knee which had been bouncing up and down rapidly without Amy's knowledge.

"Sorry," she said, pushing her hand against the wool of her tights to try and get her leg to stop anxiously bouncing.

"Class," Holt said, not even raising his voice but the class immediately fell silent. Amy sat in awe of his command over a room, as she did most weeks. "Here is your homework assignment. Most of you did adequately well."

Annoying, Holt always gave them back their homework in alphabetical order. Amy had never cursed her surname more than on this day. Why couldn't she had been Annalise Anderson, who was sitting whispering to her friend glowing under the 'E' that was neatly in the top right corner?

Kylie got hers, an A in the corner. "Oh well, at least I passed," she said, putting the essay in her bag. Not that Amy would ever admit, but Kylie wasn't always the most - academic - and didn't have the same work ethic as Amy did. Sometimes - okay, all the time - Amy quite enjoyed being the 'smart friend'.

As Holt got further down the alphabet, Amy was aware that there didn't seem to be as much commotion from the back as she would have expected at this point. She was halfway to turning around to catch Jake's eye when Holt approached her desk.

"The extra roll of parchment was unnecessary," he said, putting her rolls of parchment on her desk; the neat 'O' in the corner was sure and bold. Despite Holt's chastising (which would have normally sent her into a frantic spiral), she felt her face break into a grin; she heard a dull thud and turned around and saw Jake with his head against the desk. Charles held up Jake's essay, which had a deft 'E' in the corner.

Amy nearly started her victory dancing right there in the class.

"Is everything alright, Mr Peralta? Do you need to visit Mr Schurman?" Holt asked, noting Jake's head against the desk. Amy caught herself and put her essay in her bag, quietly glowing under the success of the bet.

"No, Professor," Jake replied, raising his head. "But can you say why my essay got an 'E'? I covered all the key points noted in class."

"Your structure was terrible," Holt said, in his usual monotone. Jake's face dropped, and Amy suddenly felt quite sorry for him. "There was no flow. Don't get me started on the syntax. Anyway, class, now that Mr Peralta has finished questioning me on my teaching methods, let us get started on our next charm, the fire-making charm ..."

***

"Hey, Jake," Amy said as Holt dismissed them, leaving Kylie behind as she rushed to catch up to him.

"Hey," he said, outstretching his arm. "Hook 'em on."

Amy shook her head, clutching the strap of her bag a little tighter. "That wasn't why I wanted to talk to you. I just wanted to say sorry. That was super harsh."

Jake shrugged. "No biggie. At least I know what to work on for next time eh? Actually ... that gives me an idea ..."

Amy frowned.

"Rematch!" Jake crowed, and Amy rolled her eyes.

"Getting beat once wasn't enough for you, _Peralta?_ " Amy said, emphasising his surname as he had done to her earlier on.

"Not even close, _Santiago,_ " Jake said, stepping forward slightly. "Next Holt essay: I bet I can get a better grade than you. Same terms?"

"For now. I may change them." Amy stuck her hand out and Jake nodded. "Deal."

"Deal. Now, get them books on my back, Santiago. Never let it be said Jake Peralta backs down on a bet."

Kylie approached them with Charles; she laughed aloud when she saw Jake attempting to carry his (admitting quite light) bag and Amy's. "Are you actually going through with this?" she asked Jake as they started their walk to lunch. "You'll have scoliosis by the time the week has finished!"

"How do you not know what a telephone is, but you know what scoliosis is?" Amy asked incredulously, drowning out Jake and Charles' questions about what that was.

Kylie shrugged. "Mum's a Healer. We have the same issues Muggles do, just different ways of treating them."

They continued their walk to lunch discussing the different ways of treating scoliosis; Kylie was aghast to learn from Amy that Muggle patients needed to be a back brace to treat it sometimes, whilst Kylie said _'a potion and an overnight stay in St. Mungos'_ was all it took for wizards, which left Amy feeling sorry for her poor cousin Ana, who'd spent a lot of time as a child in a back brace.

By the time they reached the Great Hall, Jake and Charles were a good ten metres behind them. "Merlin, Amy," he rasped, letting her bag drop with a loud thump onto the floor. He threw himself onto the bench opposite them and put his head on his hands. Charles patted him gently on the back. "What do you have in there? Genuine goblins? I'm going to soak through my robes by the end of the day."

Amy cackled as she reached for a tuna (or at least, what looked like tuna. You were never one hundred percent sure with magical food) sandwich. "Having second thoughts about that rematch, then?"

Jake's head shot up. "Never," he said with a smirk, grabbing a Cornish pasty and taking a massive bite. "I'll roast you."

Amy turned her face away as she got sprayed with flakes of pastry.

"You're beyond gross, Peralta," Kylie said in disgust.

"You're beyond gross." Jake stuck his tongue out, still covered in bits of food.

"Right, children," Amy said as Kylie opened her mouth, breaking that up before it could lead anywhere. It was sometimes a bit hard to gauge when Jake and Kylie would just have friendly banter and when it would leak over and end up bitter, so she tried to stop it before it even started. "Let's not fight. But for God's sake Jake, chew with your damn mouth closed."

Jake rolled his eyes but did mumble a _'sorry'_ as he gently bit into his pasty and chewed with his mouth closed, emphasising the point to Kylie who tactfully ignored him.

"Are you guys staying here for Christmas?" Charles asked, and Amy had never been more grateful for Charles' abrupt changes of subject. The break up for the Christmas holidays was next week, and they had had to send in their choices about whether they were staying for Christmas or going home.

"No, I'm heading home," Amy said. "What about you guys?"

"We're both staying," Charles answered for Jake, who nodded and pointed to his still full mouth. "My father is travelling through the wizarding yurts of Mongolia, so he won't be around. Jake's Mum is working anyway so at least we'll have each other!"

"I'm going home too," Kylie said, "So I can chum you on the train, Amy."

The rest of lunch passed quickly, ending with Charles betting Jake a galleon he couldn't fit an entire pasty in his mouth.

Amy had to endure Jake bragging about his new-found wealth all the way through Potions.

***

Holt didn't set another essay until the final class before Christmas. "Something to keep you occupied over the holiday season," he claimed. Most other teachers had done similar - like the first-years didn't actually want to enjoy their holiday.

"I'm quite happy to be doing work over Christmas," Amy said, folding her clothes into her smaller trunk. Oreo was snoozing on top of her pile of clothes, and each time she'd had to move her off so she could put them in her trunk. They were leaving in an hour and Amy had barely packed; she hardly recognised herself.

"Think you're the only one," Kylie replied, sitting on her bed, already packed; she'd thrown her clothes into her trunk in such a haphazard fashion Amy had actually had to turn away. "Do you think you'll be two up by the time you come back?"

Amy laughed as she recalled the look Jake had given her after Holt had set the essay; the game was most definitely on. "Oh, definitely."

"He doesn't seem like the type to give in easily."

"Then it wouldn't be fun!" Amy said, her volume a touch too loud; Kylie clapped her hand over her ears.

"Sitting right here, kid," she said; Amy rolled her eyes. Kylie was a September birthday, and one of the oldest (if not the oldest) in their year; she insisted on calling Amy 'kid' like there was a good five-year gap between them.

"Sorry," Amy said, putting her last jumper into the trunk and closing it up.

Rosa chose that moment to enter the dorm. "Oh. Hey."

Rosa didn't seem to be an overly friendly type. Despite Amy's regular attempts to engage her in some idle chat, she kept herself to herself.

"Hi, Rosa!" Amy chirped, and she could see the other girl actually recoil. Amy lessened a little. "Are you going home for Christmas?"

"Nope." Rosa was already halfway across the room and settled down on her bed, making it clear the conversation was finished.

"Are you ready?" Amy turned to face Kylie.

Kylie nodded, rolling her eyes a little at Rosa. She picked up her trunk as Amy lifted Oreo into her cage and they headed down the stairs.

"Be good now, boys," Amy called to Jake and Charles, who were playing a game of Exploding Snap by the fire. The boys called out a _'see you soon'_ and looked like they might get up _,_ but then Charles got exploded and that took their attention away from the girls. The two rolled their eyes as Charles threw down his cards in a tantrum, Jake wiping tears from his eyes.

As they headed for the train, it seemed like it was mostly younger years that were heading home; she could see nearly all of the first-years crowded onto the train, but there were barely any older pupils. Luckily she and Kylie managed to snag a compartment to themselves and spent the time pouring over Kylie's sister's _Witch Weekly_ magazine and stuffing themselves full of chocolate frogs, treacle tarts and cauldron cakes.

As she sped back towards her Muggle life, Amy couldn't help but feel so grateful for Professor Holt turning up on her doorstep on her eleventh birthday; her whole life had tilted on its axis and started spinning in the other direction, but Amy had never felt so at home, so content, so _her._ She was good at magic, she had friends. She was becoming who she was meant to be.

Eventually, the train started slowing down, signalling they were approaching their destination. The girls quickly changed out of their school robes and into their casuals; Amy folded her robes and placed them neatly in her trunk just as the train pulled into King's Cross station.

It wasn't hard to spot the Santiago's as she disembarked the train; their tall, dark heads stood out a mile. "Mama! Dad!" she called, waving her hands to catch their attention. They spotted her and broke out into huge smiles, running over to give her a massive hug.

"Mija!" her mother said, crying. "We missed you so much."

"Too much," her father added, whilst her brothers seemed to be in a competitive game of _'who can ruffle Amy's hair the hardest'_. Amy caught Kylie's eye, who was also hugging her parents.

"Mama, Dad," Amy said, breaking the hugs. "This is my best friend, Kylie. Kylie, this is my mum, Camila, and my dad, Victor."

"We've heard so much about you in Amy's letters. Lovely to put a face to the name," Victor said, shaking Kylie's hand, as did Camila; Amy got a hug from Kylie's parents, and she suspected Kylie would definitely mention how formal Amy's parents were in a letter soon.

"You better write over the holidays," Kylie said to her sternly, and Amy nodded; she definitely would, not admitting even to herself that it would be not only contact with her friend but also as a small reminder that her magical life was still alive and present, even as she was knee-deep in her Muggle life.

"Oh, of course, I wouldn't dare not to!" she said, and got enveloped into a Kylie bear-hug; Amy hugged her back, laughing. "Have a good Christmas."

"You too. I'll miss ya, kid."

"Miss you too, Kylie," Amy said, not even bothering about Kylie's nickname; Camila started to tug on her arm gently, signalling it was time to go. "See you soon!"  
  
Kylie waved. "See you soon!"

Amy followed her Mum out of King's Cross, she couldn't help but feel a little sad at leaving her magical life even for a couple of weeks; she'd miss her friends, her classes, even her silly bet with Jake.

"So, tell us everything about Hogwarts, Mija," her father said as they got into the car, and Amy's face broke out into a grin as she launched into everything that had happened since September 1st.


	5. first year: part four

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Amy's Christmas holiday passed in a blur. She had to tell her brothers repeatedly for the first two days that no, she cannot do any magic outside of school; no, they could not have a shot of her wand; no, they cannot even hold her wand, you never know what it might do in Muggle hands.

She also discovered that Professor Holt had sent her parents a letter, one week in; assuring them that Amy had settled in, was doing excellently in her classes and seemed to be adjusting well to her magical abilities. It seemed to be the done thing for Muggle-borns. _'We'd never been as proud, Mija,'_ her dad had said, adding that Holt had added a section saying that beyond their immediate family (so her parents and brothers) her magical status was to be kept a secret, as decreed in the Statue of Secrecy Act.

Which meant a lot of awkward questions from her grandparents, aunts and uncles on her new boarding school when they came round for the holidays (and they came round a lot). A lot of questions for her parents about exactly why they suddenly thought a boarding school was for Amy, and then before she knew it she was the proud recipient of an academic scholarship to Scotland's most prestigious school (her father had gotten a lot of glares from Camila for that particular lie that seemed to just grow arms and legs). Her grandmother had burst into proud tears, and Camila had looked murderous.

And although she enjoyed every minute spend with her bustling and nosy family, Amy couldn't help but long to be with her Hogwarts' friends; this life seemed very slow-paced compared to practising charms in class, gossiping with Kylie before bed, shrieking at Jake for adding the wrong ingredient in a potion and laughing with all of them in the Great Hall.

So when the day came to go back to Hogwarts, Amy was thrilled. Again, her trunk had been packed two days before, and her parents had had to damp down their disappointment that Amy was quite so keen to go back to school. Her brothers did not accompany them to King's Cross this time, having had to go back to their Muggle high school this morning. As soon as Amy passed through the wall between platforms nine and ten, she was bear tackled by a blur of blonde hair.

"Kid!" Kylie yelled, squeezing Amy tight.

Amy laughed, squirming away from Kylie's pincer grasp. "Hey, Kyles," she grinned, putting her trunk and Oreo's cage down. "How was your Christmas?"

"Ugh." Kylie rolled her eyes dramatically. "Sisters are the worst. I'll tell you everything on the train. I've put my stuff in the second compartment on the left - oh, I better say bye to my folks. Just gimme a sec."

Amy giggled as Hurricane Kylie took off in search of her parents, giving Amy long enough to turn around and say goodbye to hers.

Camila had tears in her eyes. "I did have my doubts about sending you here," she admitted quietly, brushing her hand over the ends of her daughter's hair. "But I've never seen you so happy or so at ease. You're truly home here, aren't you?"

Amy nodded. "I am, mama. I know why I never really fitted in now. I was always supposed to be here."

Somewhere further down the train platform, the whistle sounded.

"Off you go mija. Go change the world," Camila said, bringing Amy into a bone-crushing hug. Victor joined in over the top. Amy had never really known her parents to be so emotional as they were being just now.

"It's hardly changing the world," Amy laughed once they had relaxed, brushing a few tears off her face she hadn't realised had fell. "But I better go. Love you both, miss you."

"I enjoy your letters," Victor said as they helped Amy onto the train. "Please continue to write to us."

Another whistle sounded, and the train doors all slammed shut simultaneously.

"I will," Amy promised. The train began to pull away from the platform, and as she had done on September 1st, she waved until her parents disappeared. She brushed the tears off and set out in search of Kylie.

It didn't take long to find her; second compartment on the left, as she had said. "There you are, sanity!" Kylie called, throwing down the Witch Weekly she had been thumbing through. "How has your holiday been? Tell me everything, I just need to hear someone else's voice other than Mandy's shriek."

To be fair to Kylie, her older sister Mandy did have the loudest voice Amy had ever heard.

So Amy launched into a full description of her holiday, including the time that her brothers had gotten bored of her saying that they couldn’t hold her wand, so stole it - and were so dismayed when it sat in their hand cold and unresponsive, like a stick they'd picked up from the ground. Amy had just been plain relieved, slightly worried it would have started shooting sparks or something.

Kylie responded with hers, about the fights she got into with her two older sisters (Sarah was in third year, whilst Mandy was in fifth) and how although she loved her family she was glad to come Hogwarts to get some peace from them.

"Did you finish Holt's essay?" Kylie asked, and Amy grinned.

"You bet I did. It's flawless, if I do say so myself," she said, brushing an imaginary piece of lint off her shoulder. "I wonder if Jake actually remembered to do the essay over the holidays?"

"I wouldn't count on it. Peralta's got a memory like a goldfish." Kylie shrugged, and Amy snorted. It didn't help Jake's cause that he was constantly leaving things scattered around Gryffindor common room, and on one memorable occasion had even lost his wand.

It had taken him half an hour to realise he didn't have it, and another to remember he'd left it in Professor Cozner's room.

Who'd handed him back his wand then promptly deducted twenty points from Gryffindor for recklessness and disorganisation.

The girls laughed about that for ten minutes, idly chatting for the remainder of the train journey back to Scotland - back home.

***

"Welcome back!" Charles called enthusiastically as he spotted the two girls making their way down the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. "Good holidays?"

"Good to see my family. I trust you didn't get into too much trouble without us?" Amy only half-joked as she slid into a seat opposite Jake and Charles. The latter had his head nearly against the table.

"Nah," Jake said, slightly muffled, then raised his head dramatically with a smirk to show the ugly, purple-and-blue bruise that covered his right eye and entire right cheek, ending near his jaw.

"Bloody hell, Peralta!" Kylie gasped. "Who gave you that shiner?"

"Charles and me - and I," he said, at Amy's frown at the incorrect grammar (she'd obviously corrected him enough it was starting to rub off), "we got bored so we stole a couple of broomsticks from the training grounds."

"I thought you were Gryffindor's next Quidditch star?" Amy said sarcastically, reaching for a piece of steak pie.

"Ha. Ha." Jake replied around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "No, Charles kept motioning to get my attention and I eventually looked down - and I ended up flying into a tree."

All three winced.

"Did Mr Schurman not fix it up for you?" Kylie asked between bites of fish pie.

Jake shook his head. "He checked; my cheek ain't broke. I asked him to leave the bruise. It looks badass. Right Charles?"

"So badass," Charles added, like he'd say anything else.

"Your grammar makes me sad," Amy said despondently, wondering why she had to get friends who were practically illiterate.

"Sorry, Mum," Jake said sarcastically, pretending to aim some mashed potatoes at her head, using his spoon as a catapult. Kylie pushed Amy down onto the bench - Amy yelping in surprise - to avoid the assault, and Jake accidently released the spoon and the potatoes flew through their air. They zoomed over Amy's head and hit some poor Ravenclaw in the shoulder. All four burst into giggles, the Ravenclaw's furious face only making them laugh harder.

Oh well, illiterate or not - they were her friends.

***

The first few days of the term passed quickly, the four settling in their routine quickly.

Holt saw them second day back, and collected their holiday essays; Amy saw with a twinge of disappointment Jake had remembered to do his essay. He pointed two fingers towards his eyes and then pointed back to her when she made eye contact with him, his trademark smirk firmly in place. She rolled her eyes as she turned around.

"Can you just be a little bit chill?" Kylie said, as they walked - well, Kylie walked, Amy was doing something between skipping and running to Holt's classroom the week after their essay hand in.

"Nope," Amy said, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder confidently. "I am incapable of being chill. I am about to crush Peralta into dust." She thrust her hand into Kylie's face and mimed crushing her hands into a fist.

"Alright there, Rocky Balboa," Kylie laughed as she lowered Amy's fist. Since arriving at Hogwarts Amy had been studious in giving Kylie a Muggle film education, and Kylie had taken to it with enthusiasm, trying to incorporate quotes into every conversation possible. "Let's just take a deep breath before Holt gives us detention for being too pumped. It's possible."

Knowing Holt, a Professor who valued silence and hard work, it was entirely possible.

Amy took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.

"Yoohoo, Santiago!"

Amy cracked an eye open to see Jake grinning at her. She closed her eye again, knowing if she had to look at the obnoxious grin on his face for a second longer she would not be responsible for her actions.

"Ready to get destroyed by the one, the only Jake Peralta? I know, you're not, but you will anyway because I am without a doubt the greatest wizard of our year - oh hello, Professor Holt."

Amy eyes flew open to see Holt standing in front of them, Jake with his head down and looking mollified. She'd say Holt looked angry, but the man looked as impassive as ever; it was so hard to read his emotions, and it made not only Amy but everyone in the class very uneasy.

"Detention tonight Mr Peralta, for being distastefully loud and gloating. 7pm."

It was Amy's turn to grin as they filed in behind Holt, Jake rolling his eyes to Charles but otherwise taking his detention with good grace.

"Good morning, class," Holt said, standing at the front. "Today we're going to do a final practical on the fire-creating charm, Incendio. However, I would like to hand back your holiday homework. I see small improvements than last time."

Amy's knee had started bouncing again as Holt approached Annalise Anderson with her essay. Once again Amy cursed her parents for having a surname beginning with S. Kylie got a 'E' - she let out a whoop that earned her a glare and warning from Holt. She sank into her seat with her mouth wide open, and Amy silently giggled alongside her. She was happy for her, she'd casually mentioned to Amy that her sister Sarah had helped her to try and boost her marks a little.

Holt slid her essay along her desk, and Amy's grin hurt as she saw the 'O' in neat cursive in the top corner. She automatically turned around to see Jake's equally large grin, his essay with a neat 'O' in the corner too. Jake frowned as he took in Amy's essay grade.

'Who won?' Amy mouthed across the room. Jake shrugged his shoulders, and opened his mouth to reply when Holt rapped Amy's desk loudly. Amy jumped at least a foot in the air.

"Miss Santiago," Holt said. "You will join Mr Peralta in detention for having the audacity to talk during my demonstration."

Amy's cheeks burned red with embarrassment as she took in the fact the rest of the class indeed had their wands out and were concentrating on Holt's small fire, which was burning on the desk in front.

"Sorry, Professor," she replied meekly, sliding down in her seat a touch as she retrieved her wand and got to work.

She didn't look at Jake for the rest of the lesson.

***

Amy managed to avoid Jake for the rest of the day, but not for lack of trying on Jake's part; she could actively feel him try and catch her eye. She diligently ignored him, not willing to get into any more trouble than she was already in.

Unfortunately, she could only avoid him for so long; thankfully she managed to suppress a sigh when he slid into the seat across from her at dinner.

"How's it going?" he said, piling his plate full of mashed potatoes. "I didn't get a chance to ask you who won."

"Who won? Is that all you care about!" Amy screeched, then coughed as a couple of older Gryffindors gave her dirty side-eye. "I got detention. I never get detentions!"

Jake smirked, and Amy had the intense desire to wipe it off his face - preferably with her hand. She'd never felt so angry or upset. "You'll be fine, don't worry. They won't care about a lousy detention when you're sitting your exams or anything."

"I don't care!" Amy was aware her voice was rising, but she couldn't help it. "I don't get in trouble. I've never, ever gotten in trouble." Her voice broke, and she swirled her fork through her dollop of tomato ketchup. She wasn't able to look at Jake.

"Well, you were the one that started talking to me, so I don't see why you're getting angry at me," Jake said, and even through her head was down, she could see him shrugging one shoulder.

"You're just so ... nonchalant!" Amy said, and Jake frowned.

"I didn't swallow a dictionary, so you're gonna have to tell me what that means."

Amy rolled her eyes. "You're just so relaxed about everything. Get a detention? No problem. Future Quidditch star? Of course. Get an O on this essay? Done. You don't have to work for anything. Me? I work hard. Getting here was a such a gift, and I'm taking that gift seriously."

She was aware her voice was a little loud, and her cheeks were flamed red. She lifted her head to see Jake look startled, and he swallowed visibly.

"Yeah, I can see that," he said eventually, and Amy's eyebrow shot up. "I'm sorry, I didn't see it from your perspection. I just grew up knowing I'd come to Hogwarts some day. Magic was all around. I can't imagine what it must have been like to just find out one day. That must have been really tough for you. You're a pretty strong person, Amy."

Amy nodded slowly. "Perspective."

Jake blinked owlishly. "What?"

"You said perspection, but you meant perspective. You didn't see it from my perspective."

"Merlin!" Jake said loudly, dropping his fork with a clang; the older Gryffindors rolled their eyes, one of them calling _'keep it down, squirt.'_ "I pretty much apologise and say the nicest thing that I've said to anyone in pretty much forever, and you correct my wording? You're something else, Santiago."

"Only six and half more years of it," Amy said, grinning. She was tried to ignore the warmth in her body at the 'nicest thing to anyone ever' part. That was sweet of him.

Jake stuck his tongue out. "Can't wait. C'mon, let's bounce. We better get to Holt's early."

She stood up with him, and they idly chatted about Charles' fail in Potions earlier today was they walked to Holt's; he'd managed to blow up the contents of his cauldron, showering both him and his partner Rosa in not only soot but the gloopy contents of his cauldron.

"I've never seen anyone look so mad," Jake laughed as the staircase drifted left. "Her hair was covered. She looked like she could have murdered him right there in front of Wuntch."

"She was lucky she still had her eyebrows intact! What did he do? Did he tell you?"

"He wouldn't say! I tried getting it out of him but he won't tell. Which is unlike him, usually he tells me everything." Jake shrugged a shoulder. They had arrived at Holt's office, and Jake lifted a hand to knock on the door.

The door opened automatically, as if Holt had been standing behind it waiting for them. In fact, Amy would have bet money on that fact he had been doing exactly that, if he hadn't been seated at his desk.

"Evening, Mr Peralta, Miss Santiago," he said in his his calm voice as they stepped into his classroom. "Take a seat."

Obediently and silently, they slid into the double desk at the front of the classroom where Amy usually sat with Kylie. Holt remained at his desk.

"I am gravely disappointed in your actions today. As punishment, you will copy chapters six and seven of the 'Standard Book of Spells.' This will hopefully remind you about what you have already learnt and prepare you for what is to come. There is no need to talk."

Amy retrieved parchment from her bag alongside her ink and quill, and opened her textbook to chapter six - the fire-creating charm.  
For what seemed like an eternity, there was only the sound of scratching quills and the tick of a clock. A sharp knock at the door broke the silence.

"Professor Holt, sir," a boy poked his head around the door. Amy could see it was James, a seventh-year Ravenclaw who was also Head Boy. "Professor McGintley would like to see you in his office."

"Thank you, Mr Fleming," Holt said with a nod, clearly dismissing the boy, who closed the door behind him. "I trust there will be no foolishness whilst I am gone? If you finish before I return, please leave your work on the table so I can review it."

Amy and Jake both nodded as Holt left in a whirl of olive-green robes. Amy heard Jake take a deep breath beside him.

"Where you up to?" he asked, leaning over the desks slightly to see her work.

"Just finishing off chapter six," Amy confirmed, dipping her quill into her inkwell. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Jake had set his quill down and was leaning back in his chair. "You can't stop!" she said. "He'll be back soon."

"Merlin, Amy, calm yourself," he said, holding one hand up in the hair. "My hand is genuinely cramping. Who sets two chapters?! It's barbaric." He massaged his hand, exaggerating some moans of pain.

Amy rolled her eyes and continued writing.

It was barely ten seconds before Jake spoke again. "Don't you want to know who had the better essay?"

"Give it up."

"Don't you feel the least bit curious? Don't you want to lord a second victory over my head?"

Amy bit her lip, and she could practically feel Jake grinning.

"See. I know you, Santiago. Your competitive spirit always wins in the end." Amy laughed softly as Jake wagged a finger in her face.

Just at that moment the door opened, and Holt re-entered. With lightening-fast reflexes, Jake grabbed his quill and reached for the inkwell, looking for all the world like he'd been writing the entire time.

Holt surveyed the scene and nodded to himself a little, retaking his seat without talking to either of them.

The scratching once again became the only sound in the room.

Amy completed her chapters quickly after that; Jake wasn't far behind her. Amy stole a glance over - just to double check was actually finished, okay? - and could barely make out his untidy scrawl. She proudly put her neat scroll of parchment on Holt's desk.

"I trust this won't happen again, you two."

Amy nodded rapidly, head bouncing. She noticed Jake was not doing to the same, and turned to him.

"Sir," Jake started to say, and he seemingly ignored Amy's foot grinding into his own. "I was wondering. Amy and me got the same mark on our essays. We were wondering - whose essay was better?"

"Just from an academic viewpoint, he means," added Amy, trying to save Jake from his fate. She felt her face burning red in embarrassment. She imagined Holt would not take this request well. Part of her was expecting another detention for wasting his time, or being petty.

Professor Holt's face continued to show no emotion, and Amy wondered if he'd been born this way or whether he had worked hard to make sure his face was a mask at all times.

"I am surprised." He raised a hand to his chin. "You are the brightest pupils in your class. Who am I to stand in the way of a little healthy academic competition?" He quirked his lips, and Amy's jaw nearly hit the floor. Was that almost a smile?

"Exactly, sir. Academic competition," Jake was saying, nodding.

"Okay," Holt said, and put down his quill. "Peralta, your essay was superior."

"Yes! In your face, Santiago!" Jake crowed, before remembering where he was. "Sorry sir." He directed to Holt, schooling his features.

Amy felt disappointment curling in her stomach. "Can I ask why, sir?"

"Peralta, your essay was a profound improvement on your last. The structure was consistent and the argument strong. Santiago. You clearly tried and the essay was excellent, but it felt were trying to stuff every piece of knowledge you have in there. You need to be more selective in the arguments you make, rather than making them all. Quality over quantity."

Amy nodded. She could see where Holt was arguing from. "Yes sir. Thank you for your constructive criticism."

"Of course, Miss Santiago. But I must ask - that this academic competition will not in the long run harm you both."

"Of course not, sir," Amy said, nodding as they were dismissed from the room.

Amy walked back with Jake to the Gryffindor common room. Jake took all of ten seconds before he slung his arm over Amy's shoulders. "Ready to do all my essays? I've been saving them up for you! I know how much you enjoy them. Transfiguration is due in two days so that'll be your first one ...."

Amy shrugged him off, tuning him out as they continued walking.

***

After Christmas, it felt like no time at all before the spring broke. Then, before they could blink the spring had gently moved into summer and the first years was swamped with exams.

"Bloody hell, that was hard," Kylie exclaimed as they left their DADA exam, the last exam they would take this year. It was late June, and the day before they would leave Hogwarts to head home for the summer. It was swelteringly hot, and Amy and Kylie were leaving their exam to go directly to the Great Lake like most of the other students to enjoy the remainder of the sun.

"I think it got most of it wrong," Amy said, dumping her bag under a spare tree. Kylie spread out on the ground next to her with a scoff.

"Puh-lease," she said, putting sunglasses on her face. "If you get anything under ninety percent in any of the exams I'll team up with Peeves."

Amy laughed as she took off her heavy robes and loosened her tie, leaning against the tree with her legs stretched out in front of her. "I'm just glad they're out the way."

The girls lay in silence for a little while, enjoying the time to just be. For a while now, Amy had had a constant feeling of needing to be doing something, to be studying something, and it was nice to be able to just lie there and know that there was nothing to do.

Of course, their quiet was broken with shrieks and yells; Amy leaned forward and Kylie slid her sunglasses up to see Jake and Charles barrelling into view, shoving each other and trying to trip each other up.

"Look what the werewolves dragged in," Kylie said as they came into earshot.

Jake stuck out his tongue. "Nice to see you too, Baker." Both boys dumped their stuff and spread out on the ground next to them, Charles sitting crossed legged and Jake sprawled by Amy's feet.

"I was just saying to Jake; can you believe that's our first year gone? It has gone by so fast," Charles sighed, picking at the grass.

"It has been a quick year," Amy agreed, although she didn't really. She could barely comprehend that it had only been a year since she was preparing to go to Hogwarts after the summer. It felt like she'd been here her whole life, but also for two seconds.

Part of her didn't want to go home.

"We'll all write during the summer, yeah?" Jake said, as everyone nodded.

"I don't promise they'll be interesting," Amy said. "I have to go home and live like the Muggles do." She felt a little morose at the thought of not being able to do anything magical for months.

"No, yours will be the most interesting!" Jake said, sitting up and staring at Amy. "You can tell us all about Muggle things."

"I'll have you all around to show the television," she promised, giggling slightly at how Jake and Charles shared an excited look. Even Kylie pushed her sunglasses up in interest.

"Oh yes! I can't wait! We can use the tele-phone too, and see _lightbulbs_!" Charles cried in excitement, sharing a high-five with Jake.

"And the pictures that don't move!" Kylie added.

Amy couldn't wait for that day.


	6. second year: part one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes on canon;
> 
> I know technically Jake is scared of heights, but I'm ignoring that for this because let's be honest, he for sure would have wanted to play Quidditch!!
> 
> In my head, Hitchcock and Scully are a mixture between the Hitchcock and Scully we know and love and the younger pair we saw in 6x02. But more so the younger versions of themselves, the same goes for all the characters; they may be a little OOC but it's because I'm imagining how they would have been as 12 year olds. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

Amy's skin was itching with anticipation as she approached King's Cross station. The summer had been hot and long, and she'd spent most of the time wishing for a cooling charm; she'd never known distain for muggle fans until now. She'd also spent her summer with her magical items locked away, her books only allowed out for homework.

Her parents didn't mean harm by it; they just wanted her to enjoy her summer with her brothers. Amy suspected that they (whilst they have always been supportive) were a bit scared of her growing abilities and wanted her to be 'normal' for a bit. So with a heavy heart she had consented, although after some pleading they allowed her some parchment and quill left out so she could contact her friends when they wrote.

And wrote they did; it felt like Kylie sent her a message every day, usually complaining about her sisters. Amy felt for her - Kylie had to share a room with her sisters, while Amy was lucky enough to have her room to herself. _Only girl perks_ , Kylie had written and Amy had chuckled, hearing Kylie's grumble clearly in her ear. Charles had written a few times, usually discussing his baby brother who had been born just when they were starting their exams in June. Charles appeared to be totally in love with the new baby - the Boyles seemed to a big a family as the Santiago's - and Amy couldn't help but wonder how she would react if her parents had brought another baby into the world. She probably wouldn't have been as understanding or as hands-on as Charles, and she felt a little guilty for that thought.

Jake had written twice. The first letter had contained a colour bomb-like prank ball, that had exploded upon opening and stained both Amy and her room a bright purple (despite trying all manner of stain removers Victor, Camila nor Amy could remove it, which meant that Amy had had to write to Kylie asking for help. Luckily, Kylie's mother came to the rescue as she could do magic. It was a very awkward meeting for all when Esmé Baker had turned up on the doorstep in beautiful light pink robes. The plus side was she got to have dinner with Kylie. The downside was that Victor had grumbled about 'that Jake boy' for the remainder of the summer). The second letter was opened in the garden, but didn't contain any pranks but a very hard-to-read (god, his handwriting was messy) letter that was mostly about Jake practising for Quidditch try-outs.

Amy didn't even look back at her parents as she sped through the barrier, trusting that they'd follow.

It was a relief to see that the gleaming red train stood there belching smoke; it was like Amy could finally let out a deep breath she felt like she'd been holding since she had stepped off the train in June. She was going back, it was all real, it wasn't a dream that she was suddenly going to wake up from. She was going _home._

"Bye, Mama, Papa," she said, turning to her parents. They gave her a hug, and Victor helped get maneuverer her trunk and Oreo's cage onto the train and into a compartment.

"You will continue to write to us, yes, mija?" Camila said, giving her only daughter a hug. Amy hugged back, her arms tight around her mother.

"Of course, mama," she agreed, nodding as best she could with her head tucked in her mother's shoulder. She felt Victor's hand rest gentle on the crown on her head, a soft kiss pressing against her hair.

She took a step back to head into the train, however she stepped back fully into another human person.

"Hey, Amy!" Jake's voice was excited and slightly muffled, his mouth otherwise occupied with a chocolate wand, of which he was snapping bits off with his teeth.

"Ever heard of personal space?" Amy asked, her arms crossed over her body, easily falling back into their quick banter that encapsulated their friendship.

"Somewhere in my great big brain I'm sure I've heard of it," he shot back lightening quick, smirking around his chocolate. "Want some?" Instead of breaking her off a piece, he offered her his half-eaten sweet.

"No, thanks," Amy said with a disgusted tone. "You're so gross."

It was only when Victor coughed pointedly behind her that she remembered they were still on Platform Nine and Three Quarters and not in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Oh, sorry," she said apologetically to her parents, feeling rude. And that was one thing the Santiago’s despised over all else. "Jake, these are my parents, Camila and Victor Santiago. Mama, Dad, this is my friend, Jake Peralta."

"I would shake your hand, but it's covered in chocolate," Jake joked, but it fell flat as no-one laughed. Camila smiled politely after a moment, but Victor just looked annoyed as some thing registered with him.

"Ah," he said, an eyebrow raised in the same way his daughter's often did. His hand reached up to clasp Amy's shoulder just a smidge too tightly. "You're the one that dyed my Amy purple."

Jake laughed with his usual carefree attitude. "Yeah, that was a good one, right? Can't believe I managed it!"

Victor did not laugh. He just glared at Jake. "No. It was not."

Amy could see Jake visibly gulp, clearly sensing the tone of the conversation. "Erm, Amy, I'll let you say goodbye and I'll see you on the train, yeah?"

She nodded, watching as Jake scarpered away from her parents as quickly as his legs would allow him, nimbly ducking past crowds of families saying tearful goodbyes.

Amy couldn't help but wonder where Jake's mum was. He seemed to be alone on the Platform.

"Mija," her father said softly, his hand on her shoulder breaking her out of her trance. "You are capable of so much. You have a bright mind and a wise head on your shoulders. Do not be lead astray by silly boys. Choose your friends wisely."

Amy frowned at her father's words. Although ninety-nine percent on the time Jake annoyed the hell out of her, she couldn't help but defend him to her father. It was if the words came out without her permission.

"Dad, Jake is one of the brightest people in my year," she explained, almost annoyed with her Dad. He didn't know _anything_ about her life at Hogwarts, and she was a bit irritated he'd decided her friends weren't worth her time despite only having one conversation with one of them. Although Jake did not make the best of first impressions, she had to admit. "I know he doesn't seem it, but he is. We've had a bet running all year - "

"He's got you _betting?_ " Victor growled, and Amy didn't even bother saying that it wasn't Jake who had got her into betting, but her elder brother Nick.

"About who will get the highest grades. We're at one-all."

"You got beat by that chump?"

"He's not a chump! Most of the time, anyway," she added, and thankfully by some miracle the whistle blew for all the students to board the train. "I've really got to go. I'll write once I get there," she promised, pressing a kiss to each of her parents' cheeks before climbing aboard. The train pulled away near seconds after she stepped on. As was now tradition, she waved at the door window at her disappearing parents until the Platform was blip way back in the distance.

Turning around, she squared her shoulders as she may her way down the train, peering into every compartment as she searched for her friends. About halfway down she heard a faint explosion followed by hysterical laughter, and she knew that contained them; sure enough, when she pulled open the door she was greeted by a belch of smoke, Jake with tears of laughter down his face; Kylie was sporting a look identical to Jake; and poor Charles with his every hair on his head standing straight on end and his face covered in soot.

"Follow the explosions, and ye shall find," she muttered to herself as she tried to fan the smoke away from her face. "Hey guys," she called a bit louder in order to be heard above the din in the compartment.

"Sanity! In the flesh!" Kylie hollered, rugby tackling Amy. The younger girl let out an involuntary huff, her body hurtling sideways at the older girl's onslaught. Amy found herself half-face down against the worn red seats of the train, her eye next to Jake's thigh.

"Hey, Santiago!" the boy himself said cheerily, looking down at her. He was still snacking, this time on what looked like a sugar quill. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Ha. Ha." Amy wasn't in the mood. Her head was throbbing a little from Kylie's enthusiastic greeting. "Hey, Kyles. Missed you."

"I think 'missed you' is an understatement." Kylie's letters had been full of annoyance about her two older sisters. Amy nodded, settling herself more upright beside Jake, who had snagged the seat by the window. Charles sat opposite him, Kylie on this left hand side.

"Your Dad seems interesting," Jake commented after a moment or two's silence.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yes, he was very taken by you. And yes, before you ask, I'm kidding. He thinks you're a chump."

Kylie burst out laughing, pointing at Jake and loudly calling him a chump. Amy kicked her lightly across the compartment.

"A chump?" Jake said, sounding almost upset. "What did I do?"

"Well, you dyed me and my entire bedroom purple. I mean it was a pretty strong spell, we had to get Kylie's mum around to sort it." Amy shrugged her shoulders, feeling that all though her Dad could be very judgemental at times, that maybe that hadn't been Jake's best introduction to her straight-laced father.

"Ah," Jake said, his cheeks blooming bright pink. "It was only supposed to do your face. I put the spell that removed it at the bottom of the letter, did you not see it?!"

Amy stared at him for a second. "NO!" she exclaimed, her voice way too loud for the small compartment; Jake recoiled, hands over his ears. "The ENTIRE letter was dyed purple! I couldn't even see anything you had written! You absolute ... _chump_!" she accentuated her statement with a light punch to the top of his arm.

There was a moment of silence in the compartment before Jake broke it, guffawing loudly, and then the dam burst and all four were rolling around on the seats in mirth halfway to Scotland.

***

The third Saturday of term found Amy and Kylie in the Quidditch stands, at the Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs.

"Why did I let myself get bullied into this?" Amy asked her best friend as they rubbed their hands together to keep warm; it was pretty chilly on the near-end-of-September morning. Scotland seemed to get cold _fast_. "I could be reading a nice book by the fire but _no,_ here I am freezing to death." Amy looked out over the pitch, seeing an excited Jake standing clutching his broom beside a - even from this distance - very nervous Charles; Rosa (who Amy was surprised to see turn out for a team sport) was also amongst the fray of other pupils from different years, some Amy recognised from the Common Room and some she didn't.

"C'mon, Kid," Kylie said. Amy still couldn't help but roll her eyes at the nickname. "Jake's only been after this since, like, birth. We had to come see him fail."

"Kylie!" Amy cried, as Kylie snickered. "You almost had me there." Although Amy knew that deep down, Kylie truly didn't want to see Jake fail; it was just that hell would have to freeze over before Kylie would admit that. As she was talking she saw the burly Quidditch captain - she didn't know his name - approach the hopefuls and begin the try-outs.

"Can you tell what they're saying?" Kylie asked, knowing Amy was quite good at lip-reading. Which would have been really helpful if not for one thing.

"Can read lips if they're standing with their back to us, Kyles," Amy deadpanned, blowing on her hands a touch to keep them warm. She didn't really do well with the cold. She often blamed her Cuban ancestry for that one, she was literally made for warmer climates. Freezing cold Scotland? Not so much.

Suddenly the Captain blew a whistle, and started to put the troops through their paces. Amy didn't know anyone who tried out for the Keeper position, and it looked brutal as the potential and current Chasers threw Quaffles at them repeatedly to see if they could block them. Amy had a few questions - such as _has anyone ever died from Quidditch? How long does a usual match last?_ That kept Kylie entertained - until it was the Chasers turn. Charles appeared to be trying out for that position. He was surprisingly agile, and quite fast, but he had one flaw; every time the Quaffle came near him he yelped and jumped away from it. Which even with Amy's limited knowledge of the game, she knew was the exact opposite of what you were supposed to do.

However, Rosa, who was also trying out for Chaser, was brilliant. She wove around the pitch, easily swerving the Bludgers that the two Beaters (fourth years, Hitchcock and Scully, who were a dynamic duo both on and off the pitch) sent whizzing her way. She didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat.

After about twenty minutes of trying, the first round of rejects were sent from the pitch, Charles amongst them. He didn't look that upset as he came up to sit with Amy and Kylie.

"Sorry, Charles," Amy said, trying to console him. "You flew brilliantly though!"

"Don't worry, Amy," Charles shut down her attempts. For all Charles could act very immaturely, but he was always very self-aware of his own strengths and weaknesses. "I learned today that Quidditch is more suited for Jake than me. It was so high up there! I got so nervous. I'm much happier back on the ground."

Amy nodded, completely understanding; she didn't even like hovering above the ground in Flying classes.

"Seekers are up, guys," Kylie said, reminding them of where their focus should be; Amy sheepishly turned back to the pitch to see Jake lined up with the other potential Seekers. She'd always thought of Jake as quite tall, and he's always been about a head above her since they'd met; lined up shoulder-to-shoulder with the other potential Seekers, he looked tiny.

"Is Jake the only second year to try out for Seeker?" Amy asked Charles, who nodded.

"No third years either," Charles added. "There is a fourth year, and then two fifth years and a sixth."

"He has _no_ chance," Kylie said, but for once it was without malice; it was more concerned. One by one the Captain - James Sinclair, a seventh year, Charles informed them - let the Snitch go and he timed how fast they could find them. Sinclair did this with each try-out three times. Amy barely saw the small ball fly around the pitch, only seeing flints of gold as Kylie and Charles found it and nudged her; her eyes always seemed to get there a half-second too late.

Jake was last, and to Amy's amazement (a little bit of resentment) he _was_ excellent; he used his size compared to the others to his advantage, nimbly nipping in between the Beaters and under Chasers and around the goal hoops. He looked like a natural on a broom. He seemed to catch the golden ball in-between his fingers quite quickly, although Amy couldn't tell if he'd done it quicker than the others; she was a bit preoccupied as she seemed to be losing the feeling in her fingers.

Eventually, Sinclair called all the remaining potential team members down onto the pitch, Jake and Rosa amongst them. He spoke for maybe a minute before he dismissed them and Amy stood up gratefully, all feeling in her fingers and toes lost and her bum long since numb.

"I need a warm toasty fire, stat," she told Kylie, who nodded; although it had taken her a bit longer, Kylie had also succumbed to the biting chill in the air. As a three they walked towards the castle, intent on meeting with Jake on the walk up.

"I'm not doing this for six years if he gets in," Amy added, forcing her numb legs up the embankment. "If this is September, what's it going to be like in January? Why does the Quidditch season have to be during the winter?"

"To torture us," Kylie offered, and Amy nodded in agreement; they were halfway up the embankment before they heard someone call Charles' name, before theirs.

"Jake!" Charles yelled, running up and hugging his friend; Amy really liked that about Charles, he didn't seem to conform to the normal 'manly' stereotypes and freely admitted he liked hugging and often cried. Amy admired his honesty and his unwillingness to change himself for anyone. "You were awesome!"

Jake was slightly out of breath when he joined them, his activewear (a ratty Gryffindor t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms) soaked through and his curls plastered to his forehead with sweat, but a beaming smile on his face. Amy couldn't help it; a smile began to form on her own face at his clear delight.

"Thanks, mate," he said breathily, joining them as they walked up towards the castle. "Thanks all of you for coming. That's nice of you."

"No bother," Amy said, shrugging one shoulder even though the wind chill was whipping through her. "Wouldn't have missed it. I think you did fly really well, Jake."

He beamed at her.

"Did they say anything about who had gotten in?" Kylie asked, almost cutting across Amy as they walked; Amy was on Jake's left side and then Kylie was on Amy's left. Kylie wasn't always the best at personal space.

"It'll go up in the common room in a couple of days," Jake answered. "It's gonna be a longer couple of days. You sure you're okay?" he added to Charles on his right, who grinned at his friend.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Much better on the ground, it turns out," Charles said, and the rest of the walk to the castle was filled with idle chit-chat about the other candidates and classes.

***

After they had arrived at the castle, Jake and Charles had both broken off for showers, Charles admirably letting Jake go first; the girls headed upstairs to their own dorms to kill some time before lunch.

"Do you think Charles would jump in front of a _Avada Kedavra_ for Jake?" Kylie asked idly as she flipped through _Witch Weekly_ magazine; she was lying on her bed, belly down, her ankles crossed in the air.

"Probably," Amy agreed, flicking through _The Standards Book of Spells, Grade Two_ and making some notes on a spare bit of parchment. "Then again, he'd probably do it for any of us, not just Jake."

"You have a point," Kylie noted, nodding in her best friends' direction; their idle chat was interrupted by the door opening slowly.

Amy frowned, glancing at her friend; their other roommates were down in the hall having lunch, they'd seen them leave the common room not fifteen minutes before. They both sat up expectantly as Rosa entered the dorm, limping slightly.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked in shock; Rosa glared at her.

"I'm fine," she responded sharply, limping to her bed. Amy sat up straighter, seeing an opportunity to build a bridge here.

"You flew amazingly today, by the way," she said to her near-mute roommate, who looked in her direction with an unreadable expression. "You were one of the best there, hands down."

It was a few seconds before Rosa spoke. "Thanks," she said, her voice a little rough as she sat down on her bed with a wince.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kylie added. "You look in pain."

Amy could almost see the cogs in Rosa's brain turning as she debated what to do about the situation. "It was just when Sinclair asked us to come down, I landed funny on my ankle. I think I've just twisted it. It was stupid. I just stopped concentrating."

Amy reckoned that was the most Rosa had spoken to anyone since coming to Hogwarts.

"Amy's good with healing spells," Kylie said to Rosa, swinging her legs over the side of her bed on Rosa's side. "She fixed me when I sprained my wrist after falling down the stairs last year."

"How good?" Rosa asked, looking at Amy sharply, who felt very much under a microscope; she almost giggled at that Muggle phrase that she could guarantee neither of the girls in her presence would understand.

"I don't know," Amy said honestly. "I've read about them, only ever tried it out on Kylie and it seemed to work."

"I appreciate the honesty," Rosa said after a few moments. "And I really don't want to go to the Hospital Wing, if Sinclair catches wind I might not make the team. Try it."

"Are you sure? I mean, I've never - "

"Before I change my mind, Santiago." Rosa's tone was sharp and a little threatening.

"Yes," Amy said, standing to attention almost involuntarily. She walked over to where Rosa was perched on the end of her bed. "Can you swing your leg up? Kylie, could you help her prop her ankle on a pillow?"

Kylie did as she was told and Rosa looked kind of murderous the whole time.

Amy wrapped a gentle hand around Rosa's ankle, which was swollen and already going black and blue. "This might hurt a little. _Episkey."_

As she pointed her wand at Rosa's ankle, she felt a crunch under her fingers (and Rosa's yell of pain) and then a warmth; the charm had worked.

"I think you had actually broken a bone in your ankle, Rosa," Amy said, standing up from Rosa's bed, "or at least a bone in your foot. You really shouldn't have been walking on it. We could have helped you up."

"No big deal," Rosa said, gently prodding her ankle. "Thanks. It feels better already."

Kylie was rummaging in her trunk for something. "Here," she said brandishing muggle bandages. "Mum lets us play with the Muggle bandages at home, and I brought some with me to practice Healing. Should we wrap your ankle up to support it?"

"Good idea," Amy said, although Rosa looked like she was chewing on a wasp at the thought of having a muggle bandage on her ankle. Amy could tell that Rosa would appreciate her wrapping her ankle up for her, so she passed her the bandage wordlessly. Rosa seemed to appreciate this and did an okay (if slightly clumsy) job of wrapping up her own ankle.

"You should probably keep weight off it," Kylie said once she was done. "Do you want us to bring you up some lunch?"

"No," Rosa answered sharply, before looking up. "If Sinclair doesn't see me at lunch, he might think badly of me."

"I'd say who cares, but I don't think that'll stop you," Amy said, frowning as she thought. "Come down to lunch with us. If it gets too much, we can try and keep the weight off your ankle without drawing too much attention to it."

Rosa thought this over for a couple of moments. "Okay," she said eventually. "Let's go. I'm starving."

The three exited the common room, Rosa limping slightly in front swearing her ankle felt almost like new, the other two bringing up the rear wondering if they'd just managed to make a new friend.


End file.
